D. Wayne Lukas' morning at Churchill Downs June 10 unfolded just as it has nearly every morning for the last five decades: on horseback watching his horses training. When the 8:30 a.m. track renovation break rolled around, he dismounted his trusty pony and went straight to his office, opened up his binder, and began reviewing the pedigrees of the newly arrived 2-year-olds he will attempt to turn into stars.
However, there is one key difference in the Hall of Fame trainer's schedule as the summer approachers this year compared to the 45 years before; Lukas is not planning the shipping process to Saratoga Race Course with his string.
"There hasn't been a last time," Lukas said about not being stabled at Saratoga for the summer. "The last time would have been 40 some years ago. I think the first year we went was maybe 1980."
Instead, Lukas will stay home in Kentucky and keep full barns throughout the summer at Churchill Downs and Ellis Park.
"We'll train here (in Kentucky). If we get a colt that looks like he can run or something, we'll send him up there," Lukas said. "We're going for just stakes. If we fit a race, we'll ship them up, but we're not going to stable there."
Lukas, who will turn 90 in September, pointed to the rising costs of the area as a reason for his absence this summer. He said that renting two houses, one for himself and one for his staff, typically costs more than $30,000 a year.
"When you're in a hole like that, we lost money last year. Big time," Lukas said. "We lost a lot of money the year before. The year before that, we did alright."
Lukas started 33 horses in the 2024 summer meet, picking up two wins and seven other placings. Total purse earnings for his horses were $315,525. Trainers typically receive about 10% of the prize money, but those numbers can vary based off negotiations with owners.
"You've got to win a couple grade 1s or one of those major races to break even from a trainer standpoint," Lukas said. "I lost $33,000 last year. You don't want to do that year in and year out."
Lukas said although he loves it in Saratoga, where he has kept the same barn against the woods every year, he is alright with spending his whole year stabled in Kentucky or Oaklawn Park in the winter.
"I'm all for making this shift to Arkansas, Ellis, and here (Churchill Downs)," Lukas said. "That's fine for me, those three tracks."
American Promise Eyes Summer Campaign, Possible Jim Dandy Start
One of the horses that might make an appearance at Saratoga for Lukas this summer is Virginia Derby winner American Promise.
The 3-year-old Justify colt had a rough Triple Crown season, finishing 16th in the Kentucky Derby (G1) and eighth in the Preakness Stakes (G1) while not getting the opportunity to run his ideal race on the pace.
"He's fine," Lukas said about how American Promise exited the classic series. "He's a little flat, just like you'd expect him with that many races."
Lukas is starting to gear the colt up for the summer, hitting the work tab Tuesday morning for the second time since the Preakness with an easy five-furlong move in 1:03 1/5. One of the possible options for his return to the races is the $500,000 Jim Dandy Stakes (G2) at Saratoga.
"He could end up at Saratoga for the Jim Dandy or something, too. I don't want to rush him," Lukas said. "The Jim Dandy is a nice option. You can run in that and then you can make up your mind about the Travers. If you don't look good in the Jim Dandy, you can stay out of (the Travers)."
However, Lukas will keep the colt nominated to all the other graded races for sophomores in the region in case he decides to call an audible should top 3-year-olds Sovereignty and Journalism appear pointed to the Jim Dandy. Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott said June 8 that the Jim Dandy was a "good possibility" for Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes (G1) winner Sovereignty's next start while Michael McCarthy was noncommittal to next steps for Preakness winner Journalism.
However, Lukas said he believed one or both of them running in the Jim Dandy would be unlikely.
"I would be surprised if those two go in the Jim Dandy," Lukas said. "I bet you they go either Haskell or Travers. I bet they skip the prep race. It's not either one of those guys' (Mott and McCarthy) style."
