February 2024 NEBRASKA CATTLEMAN 47 Springtime racing in Nebraska can sometimes include snow. With 12 inches of snow on March 19, 1977, and more than 6,700 in attendance, the horses still ran. CONTINUED ON PAGE 48 oughbreds. In Nebraska, most races are with Thoroughbreds, with the Quarter Horse more prevalent in ranch work, rodeo and timed events, versatility competitions and more. Nebraska Greats No discussion about horse racing in Nebraska would be complete without talking about a few of the native sons who made significant contributions to Thoroughbred racing throughout their lifetime. John Nerud, born on a ranch in Minatare in 1913, worked as a rodeo cowboy, a groom and a trainer in his youth. After serving in the Navy during World War II, he began as an assistant trainer at Woolford Farm in Kansas. Most of his career (from 1935 to 1978) was spent as a trainer and general manager for Tartan Farms in Ocala, Fla. Nerud’s most successful horse was Dr. Fager, the 1968 Horse of the Year and only horse to hold four American titles in one year. Nerud also trained international champions and numerous winners and stakes winners and was instrumental in turning Tartan into one of the nation’s top racing and breeding operations. He was also instrumental in developing the Breeder’s Cup World Championships in 1982. There is also the influential duo of Marion Van Berg and his son, Jack Van Berg, both of whom were inducted into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame. Marion was born in Aurora but was a farmer and livestock dealer from Columbus before getting into owning and training racehorses, posting his first horse in a race as an owner in 1937. His horses raced mostly at tracks in the Midwest and very prominently at Ak-Sar-Ben for many years. For years throughout the 1950s and ʻ60s, he was the leading owner in terms of wins and money won. Marion’s son, Jack, grew up under his father’s tutelage and was an owner and trainer until his death in 2017 at the age of 81. He was the first trainer to win 5,000 races and, at one time, had 150 horses in training for his clients. He first entered the winner’s circle in 1957, was the leading trainer at Ak-Sar-Ben for 19 straight years and was the leading trainer in the country for wins nine times between 1968 and 1986. He was honored with the coveted Eclipse Award for Outstanding Trainer in 1984 and was ranked fourth in all time wins at the time of his death. Jack’s most successful horses included Gate Dancer, the 1984 Preakness Stakes winner, and Alysheba, the 1987 Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes winner and the 1988 Breeders’ Cup Classic winner. Alysheba was named Horse of the Year in 1988 and retired with earnings of more than $6.6 million. The life and times of Jack and Marion Van Berg is chronicled in the book JACK – From Grit to Glory – A Lifetime of Mentoring, Dedication and Perseverance, written by Chris Kotulak, the chief executive officer at Fonner Park racetrack in Grand Island. Kotulak, a Nebraska native, has loved and championed the racing industry in Nebraska for decades and is a key reason Fonner Park carries on the rich tradition of Thoroughbred racing in Nebraska. e Tracks The Ak-Sar-Ben racetrack in Omaha was one of the great horse racing venues in the Midwest, first hosting racing in 1919 and continuing until it closed in 1995. Over that time, it enjoyed great success, with a record-breaking season in 1985. In the mid-1980s, Ak-Sar-Ben was 10th in the nation in racetrack attendance. By the early 1990s, competing venues in nearby states drastically cut into Ak-Sar-Ben’s attendance, and racing stopped, with the entire facility being demolished in 2005. The glory days of Ak-Sar-Ben were over for good. There are other long-gone smaller tracks around the state. Currently, in addition to racing at Fonner Park, there are a few additional days of live Thoroughbred racing in Lincoln at the The OTTB – It’s a Thing So what happens to all the horses when their racing career is over? The off-track Thoroughbred – or OTTB as they are known – is a wonderful, versatile animal ready for a second career. Many go on to second chapters as hunters, jumpers, eventers, dressage horses, trail or pleasure horses or more. (They make great “circle” horses to cover a lot of ground, checking fences or cattle on expansive operations!) There are many organizations and individuals who excel in the rehoming and retraining of the OTTB and, if you’re lucky enough to have one of these wonderful animals, count yourself blessed. For more information on the OTTB, here are a few good places to start: CANTER: canterusa.org Gate to Great / Horse Creek Thoroughbreds: gatetogreat.com Royal Fox Stables: royalfoxstables.com Retired Racehorse Project: therrp.org
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy NTMxNTA5