RERUN FOR ROSES
Legend Lukas back at Derby with Bravazo
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The smile on D. Wayne Lukas’ face shows how much he still loves what he’s doing.
The 82-year-old Hall of Fame trainer is still going strong, and especially enjoys this week. Lukas is back in the Kentucky Derby for the first time since 2015, with colt Bravazo running on Saturday, which has the four-time winner savoring being part of horse racing’s crown jewel again.
“I probably enjoy it a little bit more now,” said Lukas, who has earned more than $278 million lifetime and won 4,804 races, including 14 Triple Crown starts.
“I know that isn’t going to go on forever and I enjoy the whole atmosphere. It’s easier for me. The press conferences, everything, is a little easier. I’ve been there and know when to push and pull on that deal a little bit.”
Lukas’ return comes 30 years after his first Derby victory with Winning Colors started an impressive run that included triumphs by Thunder Gulch (1995), Grindstone (’96) and Charismatic (’99).
For Lukas’ fellow horsemen, the comeback also seems to have added wholeness to this year’s Derby.
“We need Wayne,” said fellow Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert, whom Lukas calls a good friend. “Wayne is so important to this race because he always set the bar for me. I want to be where Wayne is.”
Todd Pletcher, Lukas’ onetime protégé, who is on the verge of breaking his mentor’s record of 48 Derby starters, said: “The Derby is always better when Wayne’s in it.”
Lukas always believed he would be back in the Derby and said his gut feeling that some horses under his watch were not Derbyready led him to be a race spectator. Although Bravazo ran eighth in the Louisiana Derby and is among four 50-1 longshots in Saturday’s 20-horse field, the trainer views the colt’s two wins before the Louisiana Derby as proof of his worthiness.
Lukas is also motivated to give Calumet Farm its record ninth Derby winner and first since Forward Pass was awarded the win 50 years ago after Dancer’s Image was disqualified for a failed postrace drug test.
Excited as Lukas is to be back with Bravazo, he is even more encouraged about the 2-year-old prospects he has coming up. The end of his career doesn’t appear to be coming any time soon as the trainer in the widebrimmed cowboy hat seems determined to remain a Derby fixture.
Mindful of his age, Lukas said the caveat is how long he will be physically able to do the job. To see him atop his horse watching his latest Derby charge at work leaves no doubt about his energy or desire.
“You feel like you’re blessed to have a career and nobody else is at that age to say that they’re here,” Lukas said. “You reflect and say maybe if it’s not this year, maybe next year, but there are no guarantees there will be a next year.
“You reach out and take advantage of the whole thing if you’re enjoying it that much.”