Hall of Fame horse trainer D. Wayne Lukas died at his home in Louisville, Kentucky, Saturday night. He was 89.
Lukas won 15 Triple Crown races, including the Kentucky Derby four times and, most recently, last year’s Preakness with Seize the Grey.
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He was hospitalized last week while he fought a severe MRSA blood infection that damaged his heart and digestive system, in addition to worsening pre-existing chronic conditions, according to The Associated Press.
He declined an aggressive treatment plan and returned home earlier this week to spend his final days with family, per a Churchill Downs news release Sunday.
“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,” his 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. His final days were spent at home in Kentucky, where he chose peace, family, and faith.”
Upon Lukas’ hospitalization, his horses were transferred to his assistant trainer, Sebastian “Bas” Nicholl.
“Wayne built a legacy that will never be matched,” Nicholl, a member of Lukas’ team since 2002, said last week, via the AP. “Every decision I make, every horse I saddle, I’ll hear his voice in the back of my mind. This isn’t about filling his shoes — no one can. It’s about honoring everything that he’s built.”
FILE – Seize The Grey’s trainer D. Wayne Lukas, left, shakes hands with with Bob Baffert, Imagination’s trainer, after Lukas’ horse won the Preakness Stakes horse race at Pimlico Race Course, May 18, 2024, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Julia Nikhinson, file)
(ASSOCIATED PRESS)
Bob Baffert, a good friend of Lukas’, is the only horse trainer with more Triple Crown victories. Lukas is also responsible for a record-tying 20 wins in the Breeders’ Cup World Championships.
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He was born Darnell Wayne Lukas on Sept. 2, 1935, in Wisconsin. He made a name for himself in the sport with quarter horses before transitioning to thoroughbred racing in the late 1970s. His first Triple Crown victory came at the Preakness in 1980 with Codex.
That’s just one of his 4,967 documented thoroughbred racing wins, according to AP, which also reported that Lukas’ horses have earned more than $310 million from more than 30,600 starts.
“A four-time winner of the Kentucky Derby, today we lost one of the great champions of Churchill Downs and one of the most significant figures in Thoroughbred racing over the last 50 years,” Bill Carstanjen, CEO of Churchill Downs Incorporated, said in Sunday’s release.
“We will miss his humor, his wisdom and his unmatched capacity to thrill the fans with the performances of his horses on our sport’s biggest days.”
This news was originally published on this post .
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