Cowboy hat firmly in place, D. Wayne Lukas on Friday 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 US$1.25 million Kentucky Oaks and first since 1990. His filly, Secret Oath, scored a two-length victory at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky.
The old guard outdid the younger guys.
Photo: AP
“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 his 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 high-strung 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 did not 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 1990s 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 more than US$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 more than 160 horses in training.
Lukas’ one-time rival Bob Baffert watched the Oaks on television.
“It was very emotional to see him win,” Baffert wrote in a text. “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.”
Secret Oath is a daughter of Arrogate, whom Baffert trained to victories in three of the world’s richest races: the Breeders’ Cup Classic, the Dubai World Cup and the Pegasus World Cup. Arrogate won the Eclipse Award as three-year-old of the year in 2016.
Todd Pletcher, who finished second in the Oaks, waited in the tunnel to hug his old boss. He became a Hall of Fame trainer himself.
“I’m really happy for Wayne,” Pletcher said. “If I couldn’t win this race I was rooting for him.”
So was Brad Cox, who finished seventh.
“Will I be winning the Oaks at 86? I sure as hell hope so,” he said.
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