Alysheba

Alysheba (March 3, 1984 - March 27, 2009) was an American Thoroughbred race horse who won two legs of the Triple Crown in 1987. A successful sire, he produced 11 stakes winners.

A bay colt, Alysheba was sired by Alydar out of the mare Bel Sheba, by Lt. Stevens. Bred by Preston Madden at Hamburg Place Farm in Lexington, Kentucky, Alysheba was sold as a yearling to Dorothy and Pam Scharbauer for $500,000.

Trained by Jack Van Berg, in 1986 Alysheba had a modest two-year-old season and won only a maiden race. He finished third in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile, and lost the Hollywood Futurity in a photo finish. As a three-year-old, he underperformed in his prep races for the Kentucky Derby until it was discovered that he had an entrapped epiglottis. Surgery was successful, and he was entered in the Derby despite having only the maiden victory.

Triple Crown Races

In the Derby, he and jockey Chris McCarron were nearly knocked to the ground at the top of the stretch by Bet Twice, who later became a major rival. Alysheba recovered from the collision and won the Derby in a slow time of 2:03 4/5 for 1 1/4 miles. He then came back with another win in the Preakness Stakes, and attempted to become American racing's 12th Triple Crown winner in the Belmont Stakes.

In the Belmont, Alysheba was required to race without...
Read More