John Charles "Jack" Van Berg (June 7, 1936 in

Columbus, Nebraska Columbus is a city in and the county seat of Platte County, in the state of Nebraska in the Midwestern United States. The population was 22,111 at the 2010 census. It is the 10th largest city in Nebraska, with 24,028 people as of the 2020 censu ...

– December 27, 2017) was an American Hall of Fame

horse trainer A horse trainer is a person who tends to horses and teaches them different disciplines. Some of the responsibilities trainers have are caring for the animals' physical needs, as well as teaching them submissive behaviors and/or coaching them for e ...

. Born into a

horse racing Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its basic p ...

family, his father was the Hall of Fame trainer, Marion Van Berg. Both father and son have been inducted into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame in Saratoga Springs, New York. For nineteen straight years between 1959 and 1977, Van Berg was the leading trainer at Ak-Sar-Ben Racetrack in

Omaha, Nebraska Omaha ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County. Omaha is in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's 39th-largest cit ...

. In 1976, he set a record for the most wins in a year with 496 and was also the

United States Champion Thoroughbred Trainer by earnings There is recognition for the United States Champion Thoroughbred Trainer by earnings but no formal award is given to the trainer in Thoroughbred flat racing whose horses earned the most purse money in North American Thoroughbred racing. Note that ...

. The trainer of

Gate Dancer Gate Dancer (1981–1998) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse best known as a winner of an American Classic Race, the Preakness Stakes, and for his part in a three-horse finish in the inaugural running of the Breeders' Cup Classic. Bred in F ...

, he was voted the 1984

Eclipse Award for Outstanding Trainer The Eclipse Award for Outstanding Trainer is an American Thoroughbred horse racing honor for trainers. Created in 1971, it is part of the Eclipse Awards program and is awarded annually. Its Canadian counterpart is the Sovereign Award for Outstandin ...

and in 1985 he was inducted into the

National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame The National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame was founded in 1950 in Saratoga Springs, New York, to honor the achievements of American Thoroughbred race horses, jockeys, and trainers. In 1955, the museum moved to its current location on Union Av ...

. In 1987 he received the

Big Sport of Turfdom Award The Big Sport of Turfdom Award has been given annually by the Turf Publicists of America since 1966 to a person or group who enhances coverage of Thoroughbred racing through cooperation with the media and Thoroughbred racing publicists. The Turf Pu ...

. He is also an inductee of the Nebraska Racing Hall of Fame. On July 15, 1987, Van Berg became the first trainer to win 5,000 races when he sent Art's Chandelle to victory at

Arlington Park Arlington International Racecourse (formerly Arlington Park, the name was Arlington Park Jockey Club from as soon as 1948 up to 1955) was a horse race track in the Chicago suburb of Arlington Heights, Illinois. Horse racing in the Chicago regi ...

. As at the end of September 2008, Jack Van Berg ranks second all-time in career wins among American Thoroughbred trainers. Van Berg is best known for training

Alysheba Alysheba (March 3, 1984 – March 27, 2009) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse that won two legs of the Triple Crown in 1987. A successful sire, he produced 11 stakes winners. A bay colt, Alysheba was sired by Alydar out of the mare Bel ...

who won the 1987

Kentucky Derby The Kentucky Derby is a horse race held annually in Louisville, Kentucky, United States, almost always on the first Saturday in May, capping the two-week-long Kentucky Derby Festival. The competition is a Grade I stakes race for three-year ...

and

Preakness Stakes The Preakness Stakes is an American thoroughbred horse race held on Armed Forces Day which is also the third Saturday in May each year at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland. It is a Grade I race run over a distance of 9.5 furlongs () on ...

and the 1988

Breeders' Cup Classic The Breeders' Cup Classic is a Grade I Weight for Age thoroughbred horse race for 3-year-olds and older run at a distance of on dirt. It is held annually at a different racetrack as part of the Breeders' Cup World Championships in late October o ...

. He mentored many top trainers, including Hall of Famer

Bill Mott William I. "Bill" Mott (born July 29, 1953, in Mobridge, South Dakota) is an American horse trainer, most notable for his work with Cigar. Mott earned the Eclipse Award for Outstanding Trainer in 1995 and 1996. He was inducted into the Nationa ...

, Wayne Catalano, and

Frank Brothers Frank L. Brothers (born October 24, 1946, in New Orleans, Louisiana) is a former American Thoroughbred racehorse trainer from 1980 to 2009 with a career win percentage of just over 23%, winning 2,291 races, including 262 stakes winners of which 5 ...

, all of whom started off as assistants to Van Berg who led all American trainers in wins nine times. His life (and that of his father, Marion H. Van Berg) is chronicled in the book ''JACK, From Grit To Glory - A Lifetime of Mentoring, Dedication and Perseverance'' written by Nebraska native Chris Kotulak, published in 2013. The book was a semi-finalist in the 2014 Dr. Tony Ryan Book Award.

References

External links

Jack Van Berg at the U.S. Racing Hall of Fame
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JACK, From Grit To Glory - A Lifetime of Mentoring, Dedication and Perseverance
' website {{DEFAULTSORT:Van Berg, Jack 1936 births 2017 deaths American horse trainers Eclipse Award winners United States Thoroughbred Racing Hall of Fame inductees Sportspeople from Nebraska People from Columbus, Nebraska