A Most Memorable Derby Dinner

So many great races, but as we all know, the Kentucky Derby is special… for so many reasons.

This year I wrote about Secretariat after his owner, Penny Chenery, died. Secretariat won the first Derby I ever attended. He hooked me on the game, as he no doubt did countless others.

I was compelled to write a column about Lil E. Tee after the death in 2017 of his trainer, Lynn Whiting. I helped Lynn get the speed figure for the colt after he broke his maiden. Made me always feel close to the Derby hero.

Swale was special to me, having won the Derby two days before I began my first full-time job in equine journalism.

As a person who likes to handicap, and wager, my all-time favorite will always be Unbridled, upon whom I placed my first “large” wager on a Derby winner. Picked the trifecta cold… in print.

Then there is Alysheba, whose name we were reminded of this week due to the death of his trainer, Hall of Famer Jack Van Berg.

During my years with Daily Racing Form, I was a member of the paper's Derby week reporting team. By the end of the week, I was usually so worn out I was ready to head home, skipping the paper's annual Derby night dinner.

But that year, for reasons I can't recall, the late Logan Bailey, then the Form's Kentucky Bureau Chief, and I decided to join the group of about two dozen for the post-race meal.

Seated at a large U-shaped table, we began our loud discussion of the race: how it had been run; the winner's pedigree; the connections.

And then… the group to be seated at the large table next to us arrived, led by Van Berg and Alysheba's owners, Clarence and Dorothy Scharbauer and their daughter, Pamela.

I was captivated by Dorothy Scharbauer's story of Tomy Lee, who won the 1959 Derby by a nose over Sword Dancer. Tomy Lee raced for her father, Fred Turner Jr.

I had a great chat with Ken Carson, who worked for the Scharbauers at their Valor Farm in Texas (and who manages the farm today for their son, Doug, who purchased it from his father's estate in 2014).

I was enthralled by Jay Pumphrey, a Texas horseman who mesmerized me with his tales of horses, ranches and his beloved Texas A&M.

But the high point was a one-on-one discussion with Van Berg. It probably lasted for five minutes, but seemed like an hour. I sheepishly admitted to him I wagered on Bet Twice.

For a young reporter to be in a social setting with the Derby-winning trainer just hours after the race became official was, well, unforgettable.

(Full disclosure: I could not remember the name of the restaurant or how many folks were in the group, but Carson sure did: it was Del Frisco's and there were about 45 people, including the Scharbauers' three sons and their wives, three couples who were close friends of the owners and numerous friends and relatives of Van Berg).

Van Berg won 6,523 races in his storied career, but he will best be remembered for Alysheba's win in the Kentucky Derby.

I, too, will remember Alysheba's Derby victory. But more memorable was the dinner the evening of May 2, 1987. The conversations from that night will always be part of my collection of Derby trove.

A few years later, I saw Van Berg when he sold a few items at a charity auction. When I said hello, he remembered me from that Derby night.

“You should have brought that losing ticket on Bet Twice,” Van Berg said wryly. “I could have autographed it and we could have sold it tonight.”

Damn, I wish I had.