The legacy of two of the top trainers of the last few decades will be honored by 1/ST with the announcement of graded stakes races being renamed in their memories. Beginning with the 2026 runnings, Santa Anita Park's Grade II Santa Monica Stakes will be known as the D. Wayne Lukas Stakes and Gulfstream Park's Grade III La Prevoyante Stakes will be renamed the Christophe Clement Stakes.
Both stakes races were pivotal to the two trainers when they were beginning their now-legendary careers.
"D. Wayne Lukas and Christophe Clement were not just generational horsemen, they were top class people," said Aidan Butler, President of 1/ST, in making the announcement. "Santa Anita and Gulfstream were blessed to be their homes for many years. It is an honor to salute them for years to come at our tracks by renaming races that helped launch their success stories."
Lukas saddled Flack Flack to win the 1980 Santa Monica, then run as a handicap. It was the trainer's first Grade II race at Santa Anita Park and just his ninth graded stakes win since transitioning to Thoroughbreds from Quarter Horses. Lukas would go on to add five more Santa Monica's to his extensive resume with Parsley (1980), Bara Lass (1984), Pine Tree Lane (1987 and 1988) and the Hall of Fame filly Serena's Song (1996). Only trainer Bob Baffert's seven wins bests Lukas' record in the seven-furlong race, which has been contested since 1957. Lukas, who began his successful career based at Santa Anita Park in the 1970s-1990s, passed away on June 28th, less than three months before his 90th birthday.
The 1992 La Prevoyante provided Christophe Clement with just the second graded stakes win of his young career when Irish-bred Sardaniya for His Highness the Aga Khan, coming less than a month after his first graded win at Gulfstream Park. It was a fitting win for the world-traveling Frenchman, who apprenticed both in the United Stakes and England, as the La Prevoyante was named after a Canadian filly owned by a French Canadian. Currently run at Gulfstream over 1 1/2 miles on the grass for fillies and mares, the 1992 running at Calder was the first of Clement's six wins in the race, followed by Tampoli (1994), Caretta (1998 and 1999), Irish Mission (2014) and Beautiful Lover (2022). Clement passed away on May 25th at age 59.
The complete stakes schedules for the 2025-26 Santa Anita Park Classic Meet and the Gulfstream Park Championship Meet will be released later this year.
