Corridor of Fame horse coach D. Wayne Lukas is gravely ailing and has retired instantly.
The Lukas household issued a press release Sunday that stated the 89-year-old had been hospitalized with a extreme an infection and declined to undergo the “aggressive remedy plan” docs in Louisville, Ky., had outlined.
USA Right this moment reported Monday that Lukas has returned to his residence and is underneath hospice care to spend his remaining days along with his spouse, Laurie, and their prolonged household.
“Wayne is without doubt one of the biggest rivals and most necessary figures in Thoroughbred racing historical past,” stated Mike Anderson, president of Churchill Downs Racetrack. “He transcended the game of horse racing and took the business to new ranges. The lasting impression of his character and knowledge — from his acute horsemanship to his unmatched consideration to element — can be actually missed. The enormity of this information is immense, and our prayers are along with his household and mates world wide throughout this troublesome time.”
The horses skilled by Lukas are actually underneath the steering of Sebastian “Bas” Nicholl by way of the succession plan of Lukas Enterprises Inc. Nicholl is the longtime assistant to Lukas.
Lukas-trained horses gained 15 Triple Crown races, second solely to Bob Baffert’s 17. His horses posted 20 Breeders’ Cup wins and he gained the Eclipse Award because the nation’s prime coach 4 instances.
Lukas was enshrined within the Nationwide Museum of Racing and Corridor of Fame in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., in 1999.
After school, he started his profession as a highschool instructor and basketball coach in Wisconsin, and he took a summer time job working with quarter horses in South Dakota in 1968. 4 years later, he moved to California to change into a full-time coach of quarter horses, and in 1977 at age 42, he obtained his first win as a thoroughbred coach at Santa Anita.
As a throughbred coach, he had 4,967 wins and his horses earned greater than $301 million from 30,607 begins, in response to statistics from Churchill Downs.
The ultimate win of his profession got here when 4-year-old colt Tour Participant gained at Churchill Downs on June 12. His ultimate Triple Crown victory was on the Preakness Stakes with Seize the Gray in 2024.
Different Triple Crown winners skilled by Lukas embody Tabasco Cat (1994), Thunder Gulch (1995) and Charismatic (1999). He gained six consecutive Triple Crown races, beginning with the 1994 Preakness Stakes and operating by the 1996 Kentucky Derby.
Nicholl stated he’ll carry the affect of Lukas with him.
“Wayne constructed a legacy that may by no means be matched,” Nicholl stated. “Each resolution I make, each horse I saddle, I am going to hear his voice behind my thoughts. This is not about filling his footwear — nobody can — it is about honoring every part that he is constructed.”
Whereas horse racing introduced success on the highest stage to Lukas, it additionally gave him his biggest tragedy.
In December 1993, his solely son, Jeff, was at Santa Anita when Tabasco Cat obtained unfastened from his handlers. When 36-year-old Jeff Lukas tried to cease him, Tabasco Cat slammed into him, leaving the youthful Lukas with a extreme mind harm. He returned to work for his father the subsequent summer time however just for a brief time period.
Jeff Lukas died on March 24, 2016, at age 58.
–Area Stage Media
