Spotlight shines again on Lukas at 86
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Cowboy hat firmly in place, D. Wayne Lukas hustled from the winner’s circle to meet with the media. Along the way, he steadied himself with a cane, one of the Hall of Fame trainer’s few concessions to age.
At 86, Lukas had just earned his record-tying fifth victory in the $1.25 million Kentucky Oaks and first since 1990. His filly, Secret Oath, scored a two-length victory on Friday at Churchill Downs.
The old guard outdid the younger guys.
“When you’re 86, going to be 87 in a few months, you know that there are not a lot of them in front of you yet,” Lukas said. “I enjoy the competition in the big arena.”
Rob Mitchell, who owns Secret Oath with wife Stacy, reminded everyone: “He hasn’t forgotten how to train a horse.”
Lukas started in the business training quarter horses and had a successful 10-year run before switching to thoroughbreds.
Along the way, he staffed his barn like the high school basketball coach he once was in his native Wisconsin. He recruited and hired young men, shared his playbook on how to train highstrung thoroughbreds, and then sent his assistants on the road while he oversaw things in California.
“A lot of nice records fell and a lot of good things happened,” Lukas said.
They didn’t just learn how to read horses. Lukas emphasized discipline, good grooming, sharp dressing and keeping the stable spotless. His Churchill Downs barn remains that way today, with a large spray of red roses standing outside during Derby week.
He set the standard in the 1980s and ’90s as one of the first trainers to have multiple divisions of horses running — and winning — consistently from California to New York. He was the first trainer to earn over $100 million in purse money, he owns a leading 14 Triple Crown race victories, and his 20 Breeders’ Cup wins are tops, too. At his peak, he had over 160 horses in training.
Lukas has had his share of detractors over the years, and he’s been criticized for his unconventional ways.
Lukas’ one-time rival, Bob Baffert, watched the Oaks on television. He’s been banned for two years by Churchill Downs after his 2021 Derby winner Medina Spirit failed a postrace drug test.
“It was very emotional to see him win,” Baffert wrote in a text to AP. “Wayne has always set the bar in racing. I’ve looked up to him my whole career. When it looked like he was going to win the race, I was overwhelmed with joy for him. In my eyes, he’s the greatest trainer of all time.”
Lukas’ stable hasn’t been the force it once was for several years now. He recovered from a case of COVID-19 in 2020 and still gets on a pony to accompany his horses to the track for pre-dawn workouts. He has mellowed since his hard-charging days and even writes poetry.
“I look at him like a legend,” winning jockey Luis Saez said. “Like a guy that he really loved the sport and he give all his life to the sport. That’s what we should do. Everybody should do because we love the horses and we love the sport.”