Just the name D. Wayne Lukas conjures up a sense of stylish accomplishment through exceptional training with elegant presentation….a talent which was reserved for the man to bring the training methods of “Triple Crown capable thoroughbreds” into view of the public’s and camera’s eye.
D Wayne Lukas (born September 2, 1935) is an American horse trainer and a U.S. Racing Hall of Fame inductee….who holds the record for the most Triple Crown race wins with fourteen in history of the sport….while also winning twenty Breeders’ Cup races….receiving five Eclipse Awards for his accomplishments….and his horses have won 25 year-end Eclipse Awards.
He began training quarter horses in California in 1968….and after 10 years of achievement that saw him train 24 world champions….he switched to training thoroughbreds….after which he became the first trainer to earn more than $100 million in purse money….who has been the year’s top money winner 14 times….as Lukas got his big break in 1980 when he won the Preakness Stakes on Codex. His horses have won the Kentucky Derby four times….the Preakness Stakes on six occasions….and have claimed victory four times in the Belmont Stakes….including winning all three of the Classics in 1995 with Thunder Gulch (Kentucky Derby, Belmont Stakes) and Timber Country (Preakness), making him the first trainer to sweep the Triple Crown Classic races with two different horses in a season. In 2013, he surpassed Sunny Jim Fitzsimmons for the most Triple Crown race victories, with 14. He has won Breeder’s Cup races a record 20 times….while fillies he has trained have won the Kentucky Oaks four times….and three of his horses….Lady’s Secret in 1986....Criminal Type in 1990 and Charismatic in 1999….all won the Eclipse Award for Horse of the Year. He has a total of 25 horses that have won various Eclipse Awards….including the Eclipse Award for Outstanding Trainer four times. In 1999, the same year his horse Charismatic came within 2 lengths of the Triple Crown, he was inducted into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame. He was inducted into the American Quarter Horse Hall of Fame in 2007….thus becoming the first person to enter both the Thoroughbred and Quarter Horse halls of fame….and in 2013, was awarded the Eclipse Award of Merit for his accomplishments. In 2014, at age 78, in his acceptance speech for the 2013 Eclipse Award of Merit, he stated, “when they start giving you awards…they are trying to get you to retire. Well, you young trainers get ready because I’m not retiring. We’re coming after you, so you’d better get up a little more early in the morning from now on. We’re coming after you with a vengeance.”
And that is why we at ImaSportsphile are delighted to have this video seen herewith….cuz any fan of the awesome sport of horse racing will love to get an inside look at what makes a great horse trainer.
