I hope J P's Gusto makes it to the Derby, just so I can catch a few moments with Joe Petalino and talk about Alysheba, who in my mind is one of the three most underrated horses of all time....

This is the only sport where many one-time revered figures, even those voted into the Hall of Fame, are discarded and virtually forgotten, often while still in the prime of their careers....

The day after the 1987 Preakness Stakes, I stopped at a service area on I-95 in Maryland on my way back home from the Preakness and called Jack Van Berg, asking if I could do a feature on him for the Thoroughbred Times, which had only been in existence for about a year. I had never met Van Berg, who was on top of the world at the time and who looked like a sure bet to saddle racing's next Triple Crown winner following Alysheba's impressive victories in the Kentucky Derby and Preakness....