LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Corridor of Fame horse racing coach D. Wayne Lukas has been hospitalized and won’t return to coaching, Churchill Downs introduced Sunday after talking with members of his household.
Lukas’ household stated the 89-year-old has battled a extreme an infection that has worsened and that he has declined an aggressive remedy plan to as an alternative return dwelling. His horses have been transferred to assistant coach Sebastian “Bas” Nicholl.
“Wayne constructed a legacy that may by no means be matched,” Nicholl stated. “Each determination I make, each horse I saddle, I am going to hear his voice at the back of my thoughts. This is not about filling his sneakers — nobody can. It is about honoring every thing that he is constructed.”
Lukas is among the most achieved folks within the historical past of the game. His 15 Triple Crown victories are second solely to good good friend Bob Baffert, and Lukas has a record-tying 20 within the Breeders Cup.
He received the Kentucky Derby 4 instances since 1988. His most up-to-date victory within the Triple Crown got here final yr with Seize the Gray within the Preakness, his seventh — one wanting Baffert’s document.
“Wayne is among the biggest rivals and most vital figures in Thoroughbred racing historical past,” Churchill Downs president Mike Anderson stated. “He transcended the game of horse racing and took the trade to new ranges. The lasting impression of his character and knowledge, from his acute horsemanship to his unmatched consideration to element, might be actually missed. The enormity of this information is immense, and our prayers are together with his household and mates world wide throughout this tough time.”
Lukas is affectionately identified across the barns and the racetrack as “Coach” as a result of he coached highschool basketball earlier than his skilled profession with horses started. Even with months to go earlier than his ninetieth birthday, he would stand up on his pony within the early morning hours and exit to the observe himself, fairly than letting his assistants do the day-to-day work.
Born Darnell Wayne Lukas on Sept. 2, 1935, in Wisconsin because the second of three youngsters, he rose to prominence within the sport with quarter horses in races which might be successfully sprints. He moved into thoroughbreds within the late Seventies and received his first Preakness with Codex in 1980.
Lukas has 4,967 documented victories in thoroughbred racing, together with his horses incomes greater than $310 million from over 30,600 begins.