Los Angeles (United States) (AFP) – Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas, who saddled four Kentucky Derby winners among his 15 winners of US Triple Crown races, has died at the age of 89, his family said Sunday. In a statement released through Churchill Downs, the family said Lukas died at home on Saturday night, a week after an infection had sent him to hospital and he decided not to pursue aggressive treatment.
“We are deeply grateful for the outpouring of love, prayers and support from all corners of the racing community — from racetracks across the country to lifelong friends and respected rivals, and from fans who never missed a post parade when ‘Lukas’ was listed in the program,” the family said.
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Lukas was one of the most accomplished trainers in US racing history. His 15 Triple Crown victories are second only to Bob Baffert’s 17, and he is tied with Ireland’s Aidan O’Brien for most Breeders’ Cup wins for a trainer with 20. He saddled his most recent Triple Crown race winner last year with Seize the Grey in the Preakness Stakes — his seventh Preakness triumph.
“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, chief executive of Churchill Downs Incorporated, said in a statement. “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.”
The Breeders’ Cup issued a statement hailing Lukas’s innovative training approach and a legacy that “continues through the many horsemen who came up under his astute guidance before finding tremendous success on their own.” The dedication, discipline, passion, and insight with which he ran his operation will serve as an inspiration for many generations.
National Thoroughbred Racing Association president Tom Rooney said it was “hard to imagine” racing without Lukas. “His horsemanship reshaped the sport,” Rooney said. “If there’s a Mount Rushmore of trainers, D. Wayne Lukas is on it.”
Churchill Downs had confirmed last week that the horses in Lukas’s care had been transferred to veteran assistant Sebastian “Bas” Nicholl. In a career spanning six decades, Lukas amassed 4,967 documented Thoroughbred wins. He trained 26 Eclipse Award winners, including three that were named Horse of the Year.
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