Racing Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas, whose life included many different chapters—nearly all of which shaped today's racing—died June 28 in Louisville, Ky. He was 89.
"Wayne devoted his life not only to horses but to the industry—developing generations of horsemen and horsewomen and growing the game by inviting unsuspecting fans into the winner's circle," Lukas' family said in a statement. "Whether he was boasting about a maiden 2-year-old as the next Kentucky Derby winner or offering quiet words of advice before a big race, Wayne brought heart, grace, and grit to every corner of the sport.
"We are deeply grateful for the outpouring of love, prayers, and support from all corners of the racing community—from racetracks across the country to lifelong friends and respected rivals, and from fans who never missed a post parade when 'Lukas' was listed in the program.
"In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to the Oaklawn or Churchill Backside Chaplaincy or the Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance—two causes that Wayne held close to his heart."
The family said that a private service will be held with immediate family, with a larger celebration of life to follow. Details of that celebration will come at a later date.
While his passing follows medical issues that forced him to retire from the sport and enter hospice care earlier this month, his list of accomplishments will continue to send racing researchers into double takes for years to come. Lukas captured 15 classics—the first coming in 1980 and the final one arriving 44 years later. To this day, no trainer has surpassed his 20 Breeders' Cup wins—most of which were captured in an era when there were fewer such races to claim each year.
The success offers plenty to capture the attention but his legacy goes well beyond the numbers. Lukas proved a shrewd horseman, top selector of young horses at sale, business operator, effective recruiter of new owners, driven competitor, mentor, ambassador, and industry voice. All of those life chapters leave a legacy for racing.
The foundation of those various versions of Lukas would be hard work, as he prided himself on waking each morning at 3 a.m. and heading to the barn. Former trainers who tried to beat their boss to the barn found few victories on that front.
In the final installment of Lukas' life, he inspired fans and even other horsemen by winning top races such as the Preakness Stakes (G1) and Kentucky Oaks (G1) well into his 80s. Like the other phases of his life, that chapter also will impact those who witnessed it for years to come.
"I would like to be remembered," Lukas told BloodHorse in 1999, "as somebody who made a difference—somebody who represented the game well and maybe raised the bar a little bit for some of these other guys to shoot at."
Fast Start
Lukas had nearly a decade of experience working with Quarter Horses, first in South Dakota on a part-time basis and then in California, when he transitioned to conditioning Thoroughbreds in the late 1970s. He started so quickly in the new venture that he was covered as an "overnight success" but that Quarter Horse experience paved the way.
Providing a reminder of the dues paid: His first grade 1 win as a Thoroughbred trainer came at age 45.
Once he made the change, Lukas immediately targeted the top levels of Thoroughbred racing. On a steamy July night in Lexington at the 1977 Keeneland July Selected Yearling Sale, he went to $275,000 to land a daughter of Secretariat out of Crimson Saint for owner Bob French, who came over from the Quarter Horse side.
While the Triple Crown-winning sire didn't hurt to have in the pedigree, it was Crimson Saint that enticed the trainer. BloodHorse reported that Crimson Saint caught Lukas' eye while racing, when she was trained by Lukas' father-in-law, Rod Kaufman, with whom Lukas shared a barn at San Luis Rey Downs.
That yearling purchase would be named Terlingua. She would go on to win four graded stakes—earning the trainer two of his first two such wins. She then produced breed-shaping stallion Storm Cat.
Lukas had already made his mark on racing. He was just getting started.
A walking example of his attention to detail, Lukas dressed immaculately. He sported stylish suits, expensive watches, and aviator glasses. Upon arrival at one of his barns, potential owners saw a tidy, business-like atmosphere. As the morning work ended, they listened to Lukas paint pictures of what it would be like to win the biggest races in the country. They believed what they were hearing.
That belief would fund a seemingly endless line of talented horses with shiny coats and white bridles making the trip from the barn to the track. The Lukas stable would lead North America in earnings every year but one from 1983-97.
A trainer who could communicate both with horses and people—sometimes leaving the latter laughing out loud with a joke or anecdote—would draw new blood such as Eugene Klein, W.T. Young, and Bob and Beverly Lewis. Those owners, and many more in the years that followed, would sign on and provide the means for Lukas to carry out his vision. Time and again, the trainer would deliver.
Being around these successful people energized Lukas. Young launched the peanut butter brand that would become Jif. Klein introduced the Volvo car brand in the United States. The Lewises owned a successful beverage distributorship in California.
"Everybody they touch is better because of it," Lukas said of his top owners during his 1999 induction into the Racing Hall of Fame. "I look in the mirror every morning and tell myself I can do better because of these people."
The good feelings were mutual for owners who were thrilled by Lukas' stories and jokes. Lukas also loved taking to the stage to share stories with larger audiences. He could command the room with inside stories about racing greats or leave them laughing—often with an off-color joke that would see the audience shaking their heads with some level of guilt for reveling in such humor.
At a 1989 roast of Bill Shoemaker at Remington Park, Lukas' long-winded joke suggested Shoemaker's engaged nephew wrote Ann Landers for advice—more concerned about what his bride-to-be would think of having Shoemaker in the family than an uncle on death row, an insane mother, two sisters in the penitentiary for prostitution, or a drug-dealing father.
Lukas paused before the devastating punchline: "How do I tell her my uncle is a jockey?"
His personality and success would catch the attention of successful people beyond racing—typically other highly competitive personalities in sports or business. He became friends with legendary men's college basketball coach Bobby Knight, who guided the champion Indiana Hoosiers to a perfect season in 1975-76. Two-time Super Bowl-winning coach Bill Parcells would write the forward to a book that showcased Lukas' quotes.
In 2004, the Harvard Business School published a paper on the trainer titled "Passion for Detail: A Conversation with Thoroughbred Trainer D. Wayne Lukas." It noted that Lukas had an eye for talented horses, but also an eye for talented people. It offered that business leaders could learn something from the trainer about hiring the right person.
"One of the biggest assets a trainer can have is a good eye for selecting not just talented horses but also talented assistants," the intro notes. "Lukas may be famous for holding almost every record in racing, but his ability to develop a whole new generation of great trainers may be his most important legacy."
The former basketball coach most assuredly hit 3-pointer after 3-pointer in that regard. Among the future trainers to pass through his barns as assistants were Todd Pletcher, Kiaran McLaughlin, Dallas Stewart, Randy Bradshaw, Mark Hennig, Mike Maker, and George Weaver.
"The horses come and go and the champions are great, but to work with these guys; they put me on their shoulders and put me right into the Hall of Fame," Lukas said at a 2017 event at Keeneland with many of his former assistants. "I mean that sincerely."
That expert help was critical for Lukas in making his national approach a successful reality. The trainers who made the cut appreciated the opportunity.
"I think the organization that he built—and his son, Jeff, was a big part of it—was attractive to a lot of people that wanted to work in a first-class environment with some of the world's best horses," Pletcher told BloodHorse upon news of Lukas' retirement. "We wanted to participate in that, work for him, to watch and learn. It was tremendously organized; he really ran a tight ship. The care of the horses was always of the utmost importance. You just couldn't think of a better place to learn."
Similar to the franchise approach for restaurants, stores, and hotels that would sweep the country, Lukas found he could expand his model well beyond California. His tidy Southern California barns would be replicated in New York, Florida, and Kentucky as his national stable would allow him to place horses in races throughout the country—providing each runner optimal opportunity.
And, like a franchise executive overseeing a far-flung location, Lukas insisted on his high standards being met at each stable location.
"If he came to town and your pony was out of line, you were going to lose your job," Stewart recalled at the 2017 Keeneland event. "Your pony had better be taken care of. More than anything, that's one thing he prided himself on."
All of that attention would pay dividends. In 1987 Lukas won 92 stakes races at tracks throughout the country, a record that would stand for nearly 20 years before Pletcher, appropriately enough, broke the mark in 2006.
Stable's Biggest Loss
While many successful trainers passed through Lukas' barns over the years, they acknowledged that Lukas' top assistant was his son, Jeff, who was hands-on in preparing the trainer's first Kentucky Derby (G1) winner: Klein's filly Winning Colors. But five years after that history-making win, the dangers of the sport arrived on a December morning outside the Lukas stable at Santa Anita Park.
Tabasco Cat, then 2 years old, broke loose, and Jeff attempted to bring him under control. But the colt ran him over. The elder Lukas saw his son's head hit the ground so hard that it caused a life-threatening skull fracture. Jeff Lukas, 36 at the time, eventually would come out of a coma and survive, but he had suffered a traumatic brain injury. While he did later briefly return to the barn, the work proved too much and he was forced to step away from training horses. He died at 58 in 2016.
The injury devastated Wayne Lukas, both personally and professionally.
"This was a relationship where he and I had coffee every morning at 4 a.m. and we discussed the day," Lukas told BloodHorse in 1999. "We worked side by side, all day long, seven days a week. He was a good trainer himself and I leaned on him for so many things. He was my lieutenant."
Incredibly, the elder Lukas was able to put the incident aside and continue to train the eventual two-time classic winner. In fact, he worked closely with the son of Storm Cat after the accident.
"It will be easy to be angry at the horse for what he did," Lukas told his staff, according to a 2004 BloodHorse story. "But we have to take a positive approach with him."
Lukas brought a fierce competitiveness to racing, a quality that first showed itself as a high school basketball coach in Wisconsin in another one of his life chapters. That competitiveness, combined with his horsemanship, money from new owners, and a national approach would forge one of the greatest runs of success in horse racing history.
He would earn six straight victories in the Triple Crown from the 1994 Preakness Stakes through the 1996 Derby. While he never won a Triple Crown, that stretch is one of racing's landmark accomplishments. It started with Tabasco Cat—yes that Tabasco Cat—in the 1994 Preakness and Belmont Stakes (G1). The trainer followed with Thunder Gulch sandwiching Timber Country's 1995 Preakness win with scores in that year's Derby and Belmont. Lukas then claimed that sixth straight classic in the 1996 Derby with Grindstone.
Heading to the press conference after the 1996 Derby, Lukas jestingly asked, "Do I have to do this again?" (For good measure, five weeks later he sent out Editor's Note to victory in the Belmont.)
Lukas loved targeting racing's biggest events. He sent out 51 horses in the Derby, 49 in the Preakness, and 26 in the Belmont—including American Promise in this year's Derby and Preakness.
NBC's Kenny Rice, who initially worked as a local sports reporter in Lexington and covered Lukas through his entire career, saw that desire to compete in the top races year after year.
"He went after the Triple Crown races more than anybody else," Rice told LEX18 in June after Lukas' forced retirement. "Nobody else sought them like he did. It was very important for him to go to the big moments and because of that, he's one of the reasons I think the Kentucky Derby started taking off.
"Everyone always asked, 'How many horses is D. Wayne running in the Derby?'"
Another Level
If that initial run of Lukas success had occurred today, he might be referred to as a "disruptor."
For years, many of the sport's most successful trainers were tied to a single owner, such as Ben Jones and Calumet Farm. But Lukas would help change that. Tabasco Cat was campaigned by Young's Overbrook Farm and David Reynolds. Thunder Gulch raced for Michael Tabor while Timber Country competed for Overbrook, Gainesway Farm, and Bob and Beverly Lewis. Grindstone was a homebred for Overbrook.
"This man was the most focused man I had ever seen," Young said after Grindstone's Derby win. "He literally had no diversions. If you called him at 4 a.m. on Christmas morning, he would be at the barn."
Lukas could do things the traditional way, but never feared change. He landed his first classic in 1980 when Tartan Stable homebred Codex overwhelmed seven rivals—including Kentucky Derby-winning filly Genuine Risk—to post a 4 3/4-length victory under Angel Cordero Jr. The trainer's final classic victory also would come in the middle jewel when MyRacehorse's Seize the Grey posted a clear victory in a front-end score over Derby winner Mystik Dan. In classic victories 44 years apart, Lukas had captured the Preakness with a homebred for a prominent Florida farm and then a microshare ownership group that featured more than 2,500 partners.
For a trainer looking for big targets, Lukas' arrival in Thoroughbred racing was well timed as it coincided with the emergence of the Breeders' Cup World Championships. In the second edition of the Breeders' Cup, Lukas would win a pair of races, taking the 1985 Juvenile Fillies (G1) with Twilight Ridge and that year's Distaff (G1) with Life's Magic—a pair of runners campaigned by Klein. He would win multiple Breeders' Cup races each year from 1985-88 and would cap his World Championships run with Willis Horton's Take Charge Brandi in the 2014 Juvenile Fillies.
Lukas would win four Eclipse Awards as outstanding trainer from 1985-94. (The two-horse Lukas Triple Crown of 1995 fell short to Bill Mott's winning run with Horse of the Year Cigar.) In 1990, Lukas became the first trainer to surpass $100 million in purse earnings and nine years later he'd be the first to surpass $200 million.
For his career, Lukas' runners surpassed $300 million and won 4,953 races from 30,437 starts.
He conditioned three horses who would be named Horse of the Year in Charismatic, Criminal Type, and Lady's Secret. Lukas was well aware that the owners he brought to the sport made this success possible.
"Do you know the one thing that I'm proudest of? It's this: I don't think you can name anybody from 1980-1999 who has brought more influential people into the Thoroughbred business than we have," Lukas told BloodHorse in 1999. "We've convinced them that this sport can be fun and profitable and they've made an impact.
"That alone is a greater contribution than anything else I could have done for this industry."
Oddly enough considering his success, Lukas never won the Derby with a favorite. He claimed his first Run for the Roses with Winning Colors, just the third filly to win the Derby. No filly has won the race since.
Thunder Gulch went off at odds of 24-1 following a fourth-place finish in the Blue Grass Stakes (G1) but his backers were rewarded when he returned to the form that saw him take that year's Florida Derby (G1). With a nose win over Cavonnier, Grindstone held off trainer Bob Baffert's first Derby victory for one year. Louisiana Derby (G3) winner Grindstone was sent off at 5-1, and those odds were lower because he was an entry with that year's eventual Belmont winner, Editor's Note. Then Charismatic, who went unclaimed for a tag at 2 and again as an early 3-year-old, would capture the 1999 Derby for the Lewises at 31-1 odds.
Lukas loved seeing his horses bounce back. That played into one modern trend that Lukas was not part of: extended rest for top runners between races. Overbrook Farm homebred Cat Thief had finished third to Charismatic in the 1999 Derby and entered that year's Breeders' Cup Classic (G1) with just one win from 11 starts that year. After pulling off an upset in that race, he would be pointed to a 13th start that year: a third-place finish in the Malibu Stakes (G1).
Lukas frequently started horses in two or more of the classics. His final Preakness winner, Seize the Grey, started in that race off a victory two weeks earlier in the Pat Day Mile Stakes (G2) at Churchill Downs. The son of Arrogate then finished seventh in the Belmont.
Running females against males also was something Lukas was willing to do—to great effect. Winning Colors won the Santa Anita Derby (G1) ahead of her Kentucky Derby score. Serena's Song defeated colts in the 1995 Jim Beam Stakes (G2) and Haskell Invitational Handicap (G1) while Lady's Secret would blitz males in the 1986 Whitney Handicap (G1). All three would find their way to the Racing Hall of Fame.
New Path
After setting standards through the 1990s, Lukas would see a reduction in the size of his stable at the turn of the century. Long-time owners passed away, left the game, or found new trainers. The industry overall would see a downturn from the glory of the 1980s when the foal crop surpassed 50,000 for three straight years.
Lukas closed out the 1990s with former claimer Charismatic winning the 1999 Derby and Preakness before suffering a career-ending injury after finishing third in the Belmont. Some tough years would follow but the trainer who seemingly found success overnight proved to be as resilient as those bounce-back horses he so loved.
A key would be unwavering commitment to his core beliefs. The $3,000 suits would sometimes be replaced by jeans, but the look—often topped by a cowboy hat—would remain crisp. While there was a reduction in horses, his remaining barns would continue to be immaculate on the outside with top help on the inside.
"He's probably the most resilient person that I've ever been around and certainly one of the most optimistic," Pletcher said after Lukas' retirement. "When I first saw him at the Derby this year at Churchill and went over to talk to him, in typical Wayne fashion, he was telling me how awesome his horse was doing and how he was training unbelievable coming into the race. He always bounced back and kept that positive attitude and was always thinking positively.
"That type of energy is unparalleled."
Lukas' quick wit and training talents would never leave him. New opportunities would present themselves. He was a people person and while he no longer drew the very top owners in the sport, he still found plenty with talented horses who wanted his expertise and to be around him.
In 2022, at age 86, Lukas captured the Kentucky Oaks (G1) for a fifth time. Secret Oath would rally from eighth to post a two-length score for owner and co-breeder Briland Farm. The trainer then pointed her to the Preakness, where she just missed a placing when finishing fourth. Two years later, Lukas would become the oldest trainer to win a classic when Seize the Grey splashed to victory on the muddy Pimlico Race Course track.
"People always ask which Preakness win is the best and the last one is the sweetest," Lukas said after his seventh and final victory in the middle jewel. "What was significant to me, and maybe because I am getting older, is that as I walked across the racetrack (after the race), every one of those (trainers) in the race gave me a handshake. That meant more to me than any single thing. Baffert, Kenny McPeek, right on down the line."
With a smaller stable, Lukas enjoyed stopping to smell the roses while also trying to keep racing traditions alive. With wife Laurie, he would attend Derby trainers' dinners and the Preakness Alibi Breakfasts, where everyone would be sure to be seated to hear his latest stories and jokes. At Derby and Belmont parties, Wayne and Laurie would hit the dance floor.
Lukas shifted into a new chapter in these years when many referred to him as "Coach," referencing his basketball days, ability to bring new trainers into the game, and willingness to share his wisdom. For all the efficiency and business-like approach, these years displayed Lukas' love for the sport and the horses—as he made good on one of his goals of leaving a legacy.
During this time Lukas would enjoy the role of ambassador, taking time to explain the game to visitors of his still-immaculate barns at Churchill Downs or Oaklawn Park. He proved a natural for partnership or microshare ownership groups as he captivated new partners with his stories of racing glory as well as a lifetime worth of humorous anecdotes.
"He's meant so much to so many people, to the entire industry," Pletcher said. "He's been the face of racing for as long as I can remember.
"His achievements are unparalleled. To have the success that he had over the number of years he was able to compete at the highest level, and win a Preakness at age 88, it was just a phenomenal career. He had a phenomenal influence on many trainers and the breeding industry. I don't think anyone has changed the game the way that he has."
In these later years, Lukas also wanted to help shape the sport. When important industry topics presented themselves, he would always be willing to weigh in with his thoughts—formed over decades in the industry. That experience would prove invaluable to a sport trying to find its way in a changing society.
In 2014, Lukas was one of 25 trainers to sign his name to an effort to end the use of race-day medication, including furosemide (commonly called Lasix).
"We believe it's time to take a proactive position regarding the administration of race-day medication," Lukas said in a release. "American racing has always been a global leader, and it's time to restore confidence in our game and in our international standing."
In 2022, he served as the keynote speaker at the National Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association convention at Oaklawn. At that event, he suggested owners could improve the sport's integrity by talking with their trainers.
"They should talk with the trainers and be comfortable that he or she is going to be honest; not put you in a bad spot," Lukas said. "Pick a trainer you know is going to do an honest job and not get you in trouble."
Lukas loved the history of the sport and supported the Kentucky Derby Museum, donating his racing memorabilia to it. His list of honors is long and it includes the Eclipse Award of Merit and the National Turf Writers and Broadcasters' Mr. Fitz Award for typifying the spirit of racing. Churchill Downs named a race after him, the Lukas Classic Stakes (G2).
Clearly Lukas' favorite investment in the future of the sport would be his most direct actions. He would smile widely while handing out winning $2 tickets to fans or bringing children into the winner's circle to celebrate a victory.
Once D. Wayne Lukas channeled his competitiveness to horse racing, all of his life's chapters that followed involved finding ways to continue that passion to be out on his pony each morning. That desire would continue nearly to the end of his life, when medical issues forced his retirement. In his "Coach years" especially, he made a point of trying to ensure that those with a similar racing dream would have an opportunity today, and in the years ahead.
Sean Collins contributed to this story.
