ELMONT, N.Y. – To look at Alan Sherman now, it’s hard to imagine that he once was a jockey. He’s got a nice little paunch, but with a solid, medium build that makes him resemble a former fullback more than a former rider. Sherman rode for just three years, from 1986-89. He likes to joke that he “ate my way out of that job,” but, in fact, it was more nature than nurture that was going to keep him from a lengthy career. Time was not on his side to be a jockey. He got his GED and left high school as a junior to ride. “I knew if I waited, it wasn’t going to happen,” he said. “I had a size 9 shoe. It was just a matter of time. I had to do it. It was a now-or-never thing.” Sherman never won a major race, and though he never went to college, his education continued. Riding in Southern California, he got mounts for legendary trainers such as Charlie Whittingham and was keen to come out in the mornings to ask questions and learn whatever he could, because Sherman knew he was going to follow in the footsteps of his father, Art, who rode for a lot longer, 23 years, and then became a trainer. Riding’s loss certainly has been training’s gain. Art Sherman, 77, has won more than 2,000 races as a trainer, none more famous than two last month, the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness Stakes with California Chrome. But it is Alan Sherman, at 45 the youngest of Art and Faye Sherman’s two sons, who has done more of the day-to-day training of California Chrome, overseeing nearly every step the colt has taken since he left California five weeks ago for this captivating journey. ::DRF Live: Get real-time reports from Belmont Park each morning They went to Kentucky and then to Maryland and now are here in New York, where on Saturday California Chrome will attempt to become the sport’s 12th Triple Crown winner in the 146th Belmont Stakes at Belmont Park. The Shermans run a family operation. Both Alan and his older brother, Steve, 50, became trainers. Steve has his own string in Northern California, while Alan is his father’s assistant but has taken on more responsibility in recent years. “He’s my right-hand guy,” said Art Sherman, who is based at Los Alamitos in Southern California. “He’s going to make a great trainer when he goes out on his own.” For Alan, the current situation is a good fit. “I like the family camaraderie,” Alan Sherman said. “I enjoy being around my dad, helping him out. We’re close. My dad’s always been supportive of what I do, and if he hasn’t been, he’s let me know about it. Growing up, you do stupid things. My dad would be subtle about it: ‘I don’t think that’s a good thing.’ ” Alan Sherman was a track rat from the time he was young. Even when Art was still riding, Alan would come out in the mornings to observe. “Growing up, I always dreamed of being a jockey,” Alan Sherman said. “I weighed about 100 pounds the first race I rode. I liked sports. I played baseball growing up. I wanted to be an athlete. And I liked horses.” Sherman hasn’t lost his athletic touch. He threw out the first pitch before Monday night’s Yankees game and fired a bullet to Brian Roberts. His father’s popularity got Alan Sherman in good with such top veteran jockeys of that era as Bill Shoemaker and Don Pierce. “They were great with me, watching films,” Sherman said. He also was tutored by Bill Hartack, the five-time Kentucky Derby winner, who was a patrol judge then at Hollywood Park and was entrusted with film review for riders. All the while, though, Sherman was planning for the next step. While riding, Sherman did a lot of work for Whittingham, the Hall of Fame trainer who ruled California stakes racing. “I learned a lot from Charlie – how to take care of horses, watching their training patterns, seeing how they progressed to a race,” Sherman said. Sherman said his other main influences were Bobby Martin, long a successful trainer in Northern California, where his father was based for years as a trainer, “and, obviously, my dad.” Alan and Art’s work relationship is a partnership. At Los Alamitos, they will go over the training charts for each horse in their barn each morning. And though Art has the final say – always – while Alan has been on the road with California Chrome, Art has given him plenty of leeway. He is not a helicopter parent. “He’s actually been really good with this horse as far as letting me do what we want to do,” Alan Sherman said. “He definitely trusts me.” “He knows the horse like the back of his hand,” Art Sherman said. “He’s been with him since he came in.” It has been a taxing journey. California Chrome, in fact, has held up better than Alan. Two weeks ago, soon after arriving in New York, Alan said he felt like he was getting sick. “My body’s wearing down. I need to get a Z-Pak,” he said. Now recovered, Alan is eagerly awaiting the Belmont, as well as a long-planned vacation at the end of the month. Sherman, along with trainers such as Scott Hansen, Eoin Harty, and Sean McCarthy, is going to Craig, Alaska, to fish for salmon and halibut. “This is the third straight year I’ve gone,” he said. “In one day you can catch chum, silver, king, and pink salmon. I think I need a break more than the horse does.” Although Sherman grew up in the city, mostly around San Francisco and Los Angeles, his mother’s side of the family is from Tennessee. Since his youth, influenced by family vacations to Tennessee, Sherman has loved the outdoors, including fishing and hunting. “Mostly birds,” he said of his choice of hunting. “I love to duck and pheasant hunt.” Alan and Art Sherman have embraced this Triple Crown journey. They have readily shared their stories with the media and welcomed friends old and new into the fold. Among those coming in for the Belmont is Alan’s best friend, Bobby Harkins, who lives in the Bay Area. “His mom and my mom were friends before I was born,” Alan Sherman said. “I was the best man at his wedding, he was the best man at my wedding. I’m the godfather of his son. He’s the godfather of my daughter.” Plenty of other family members will be in attendance. One of the only ones who can’t make it is Alan’s daughter, Brianne, 22, who is two weeks from the due date of her first child, a boy. “I’m too young to be a grandpa,” Alan Sherman said. “But at least I’ll have someone to hunt and fish with.” Alan Sherman was born into the game. His father has been on the track for 60 years. They have perspective. They are keenly aware that this moment is fleeting, as good as it will get. “The whole thing’s been hard to imagine,” Alan Sherman said. “Obviously, it’s the first time we’ve done this, and sometimes it’s been overwhelming, but I think we’ve handled it well. You have to enjoy it. I mean, what are the chances of this happening again?”