Van Berg climbs trainer standings
A second career triple on March 4, followed by a fourth consecutive victory Thursday, propelled Tom Van Berg near the top
10 in the trainer standings.
Van Berg, 49, became a trainer of record for the first time in a decade at this year’s Oaklawn meeting following the death of his legendary father, Hall of Fame trainer Jack Van Berg, in December.
Tom Van Berg’s three winners on March 4 were Single Gem
($8.80) for $40,000 maiden claimers in the sixth race, Chief of Staff
($15.40) for older $16,000 claimers in the seventh race and Silver Turns Gold ($8.60) for $12,500 maiden claimers in the ninth race.
“The tough thing about the meet we had prior to that day, I mean it’s still tough, but it always seems like you’re not in the exact, perfect spot,” Van Berg said Saturday morning. “You want to run a horse for ($20,000) and you have to run for ($30,000). You want to run a horse for ($16,000) and you have to run for ($20,000) and somebody’s dropping. It’s hard to get the exact spot. That day, we had pretty much all the horses … we had them in the right spots.”
Van Berg stretched his winning streak to four when multiple stakes winner Prime Engine ($10) captured Thursday’s fifth race for older $50,000 claimers at 1 1/16 miles.
The recent surge pushed Van Berg into a tie for 13th in the standings, with six victories from 46 starts. He said he has 28 horses under his care.
“I would love to be able to get two more starts in each one here, but we’ll see,” Van Berg said with a laugh. “It just depends on the races that come up and if they fit it and we can find spots for them. Right now, we’re in a pretty good spot. They’re all fit, they’re all in racing shape and going forward we just have to see if we can find the right spots for them.”
Van Berg’s first triple was Jan. 11, 2003, at Turfway Park, according to Equibase, racing’s official data gathering organization. Van Berg has 164 career victories, including nine at Oaklawn. He won three races at the 2004 meeting, highlighted by Sonic West’s victory in the $100,000 Razorback Handicap
(G3) for older horses.
Van Berg, who saddled his first winner in 1999, quit training in
2008 to help raise his family. He eventually inherited many of his father’s runners after his health began to deteriorate last year.
Jack Van Berg was Oaklawn’s leading trainer in 1983 and 1984.