GRAND PRAIRIE, Texas – Since Hall of Fame trainer Jack Van Berg moved his base of operations back to the Midwest from Southern California this winter, he has been surrounded by former assistants. During the Oaklawn Park meet, he shared a barn with Billy Gowan, who on Saturday will saddle Ride On Curlin in the Kentucky Derby, and Ralph Irwin, a mainstay in Arkansas and Louisiana. Van Berg is now set up for the new meet at Lone Star Park, and is stabled alongside trainer Joe Petalino, who was his right-hand man during the Alysheba era, when the colt won the 1987 Kentucky Derby and 1988 Breeders’ Cup Classic en route to being named Horse of the Year. The dynamic of so many assistants crossing paths with the 77-year-old Van Berg these days is not surprising, said Petalino. “Everybody in the country’s worked for him,” he said. Van Berg’s reach was indeed nationwide decades ago, when he had divisions of his stable at a number of tracks. He set a standard for trainer wins in a year in 1976, 496, which was not broken until 2004, by Steve Asmussen. Van Berg’s list of former assistants also includes fellow Hall of Famer Bill Mott and Frankie Brothers. Van Berg said at his stable’s peak he had about 250 horses in training. These days, he has 17 in his care at Lone Star, and recently picked up some runners for the Dream Walkin’ Farms operation of country artist Toby Keith. Van Berg said it has been a pleasure having so many former assistants in his life on a daily basis, the first time that has been the case since 1991, when he left the Midwest. “It’s good to be around Joe,” Van Berg said from Petalino’s office at Lone Star on Thursday. “He kind of looks after me, or I look after him. I ain’t decided which yet! In Hot Springs, I had Ralph Irwin and Billy Gowan, both with me for a long time, so they kept me entertained, also. When you’re around people like that, it keeps you younger. “It’s like old home week, talking about old times, old stories and such.” Van Berg said he also enjoyed his time around Ride On Curlin, the runner-up in the Arkansas Derby. He talked to Gowan on Thursday, and is looking forward to seeing the horse run in the Kentucky Derby. “I told Billy just like I wouldn’t have traded spots with anyone with Alysheba, I would not trade spots with any of them with Ride On Curlin,” Van Berg said. “He’s done everything he’s supposed to do. He’s a tough horse. He’s sound. He’s like Alysheba – never missed an oat, never missed a day of training, and he’s right on schedule. If he has any luck at all, he’ll be tough.” Petalino said he’s having fun with Van Berg. “He’s my buddy,” he said. “He can tell stories all day long. He’s a super-good horseman, just helps everybody. I don’t want to downgrade anybody else as a horseman, but he’s forgotten more than most people will ever know.” Van Berg was scheduled to have his first Lone Star starter Friday night, in the fourth race with Warrens China Doll. And while the Hall of Famer is new to Lone Star, it’s not his first foray into Texas. “I raced at Retama the first two or three years that they raced,” he said. “I had a stable there, and I was in Texas when they were trying to get racing, speaking at the legislature and such. I always liked Texas.” Van Berg said that following Lone Star he will be based at Remington Park in Oklahoma City, then will return to Oaklawn.