D. Wayne Lukas

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Column 1
Lukas in 2013
Darrell Wayne Lukas
(1935-09-02)September 2, 1935Antigo, Wisconsin, U.S.
June 28, 2025(2025-06-28) (aged 89)Louisville, Kentucky, U.S.
Horse racing
Quarter Horse racing: 739Thoroughbred flat racing:4,953
American Classics wins:Kentucky Derby(1988, 1995, 1996, 1999)Preakness Stakes(1980, 1985, 1994, 1995, 1999, 2013, 2024)Belmont Stakes(1994, 1995, 1996, 2000) Breeders' Cup wins:Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies(1985, 1988, 1994, 1999, 2005, 2014)Breeders' Cup Juvenile(1986, 1987, 1988, 1994, 1996)Breeders' Cup Juvenile Sprint(2012)Breeders' Cup Sprint(1988, 2002)Breeders' Cup Turf Mile(1989)Breeders' Cup Distaff(1985, 1986, 1987, 2000)Breeders' Cup Classic(1999)
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Grade 1 Stakes Wins

Acorn Stakes 1989, 1990, 1997 Alabama Stakes 1984, 1989 American Pharoah Stakes / FrontRunner Stakes / Norfolk Stakes 1981, 1986, 1989 Apple Blossom Handicap 1983, 1987, 2004 Arkansas Derby 1984, 1985 Arlington Million 1989, 1997 Arlington-Washington Futurity Stakes 1987 Arlington-Washington Lassie Stakes 1985 Ashland Stakes 1987, 1998 Ballerina Stakes 1990, 1997 Beldame Stakes 1984, 1985, 1986, 1991, 1995 Belmont Futurity Stakes 1997 Bernard Baruch Handicap 1989 Blue Grass Stakes 1987, 2000 Breeders' Futurity Stakes 2004 Carter Handicap 1988, 1989 Champagne Stakes 1994, 1997 Chandelier Stakes / Oak Leaf Stakes 1982, 1983, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1994, 1995, 1996 Charles Whittingham Memorial Handicap/Hollywood Turf Handicap 1990 Clark Handicap 2013 Coaching Club American Oaks 1987, 1989 Cowdin Stakes 1985, 1987 Del Mar Futurity 1984, 1987 Demoiselle Stakes 1988 Flamingo Stakes 1986, 1987 Florida Derby 1995, 1998 Flower Bowl Stakes 1989 Forego Stakes 2002 Fountain of Youth Stakes 2000 Frank J. De Francis Memorial Dash Stakes 1999 Frizette Stakes 1985, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1994, 1995, 1999 Gazelle Handicap 1988, 1995, 2004 Go For Wand Handicap/Maskette Stakes 1985, 1986, 1987, 2004 Gold Cup at Santa Anita Stakes / Hollywood Gold Cup Handicap 1990 Gulfstream Park Mile Stakes/Gulfstream Park Handicap 1989 Haskell Invitational Stakes 1995 Hollywood Derby 1980, 1996 Hopeful Stakes 1990, 1991, 1995, 1999, 2000, 2009, 2013, 2017 Jim Dandy Stakes 2001 Kentucky Oaks 1982, 1984, 1989, 1990, 2022 La Brea Stakes 2000 La Cañada Stakes 1986, 1987 Ladies Handicap 1986 Las Virgenes Stakes 1995, 1997, 2000 Los Alamitos Derby / Swaps Stakes 1986, 1999 Los Alamitos Futurity / Hollywood Futurity 1987, 1989, 1998 Matron Stakes 1983, 1984, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1995, 1996, 2005 Metropolitan Handicap 1988, 1990, 1996 Monmouth Cup Stakes/Meadowlands Cup Handicap 1991 Monmouth Oaks 1987 Mother Goose Stakes 1984, 1986, 1987, 1989, 1995, 2004 Oaklawn Handicap 1989 Ogden Phipps Stakes/Hempstead Handicap 1991, 1996 Philip H. Iselin Stakes 1986, 1987 Pimlico Special Handicap 1990, 1991 Ruffian Stakes 1985, 1986 San Felipe Stakes 1985 San Fernando Stakes 1988 San Juan Capistrano Stakes 1997 Santa Anita Derby 1980, 1982, 1983, 1988 Santa Anita Handicap 1991 Santa Anita Oaks / Santa Susana Stakes 1982, 1984, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1995, 1997, 2000 Santa Carlos Stakes 2002 Santa Margarita Stakes 1986, 1987 Santa Maria Stakes 1996 Santa Monica Stakes 1996 Secretariat Stakes 1996 Shuvee Stakes 1986, 1990, 1991 Spinaway Stakes 1984, 1985, 1987, 1989, 1992, 1995 Spinster Stakes 1987, 2004 Starlet Stakes / Hollywood Starlet Stakes 1983, 1990, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1999, 2014 Strub Stakes 1997 Suburban Stakes 1986 Summertime Oaks /Hollywood Oaks 1990 Super Derby 1996 Top Flight Handicap 1988 Travers Stakes 1991, 1995, 2013 Vosburgh Stakes 1994 Whitney Stakes 1986, 1990 Woodward Stakes 1982 | | Eclipse Award for Outstanding Trainer(1985, 1986, 1987, 1994)U.S. Champion Trainer by wins(1987-1990)U.S. Leading stakes-winning trainer (1985-1992)U.S. Champion Trainer by earnings(1983-1992, 1994-1997)John W. Galbreath Equine Award (1998) | | United States' Racing Hall of Fame (1999)American Quarter Horse Hall of Fame (2007) Eclipse Award for Outstanding Trainer (1985, 1986, 1987, 1994)Eclipse Award of MeritLukas Classic StakesD. Wayne Lukas Stakes | | Trainer of 23 World Champion Quarter horses including Dash For CashOther Thoroughbred flat racing horses: Azeri, Blush With Pride, Cara Rafaela, Corporate Report, Criminal Type, Dance Floor, Dynaformer, Effervescing, Farma Way, Go And Go, Golden Attraction, Grand Slam, Honour and Glory, Landaluce, North Sider, River Memories, Serena's Song, Sharp Cat, Southern Halo, Spain, Star of Cozzene, Tamarisk, Terlingua, Thunder Gulch, Titletown Five, Will Take Charge, Winning Colors, | | | | Updated on June 22, 2025 |

Darrell Wayne Lukas (September 2, 1935 – June 28, 2025) was an American horse trainer and a U.S. Racing Hall of Fame inductee. He won 20 Breeders' Cup races, 15 Triple Crown races, received five Eclipse Awards for his accomplishments, and his horses won 25 year-end Eclipse Awards. Lukas was inducted into the American Quarter Horse Hall of Fame in 2007.

Lukas was born on September 2, 1935, in Antigo, Wisconsin, where his parents had a farm. He grew up with an interest in horses. As an undergraduate at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, he was initiated into the Kappa Sigma fraternity. He graduated from the University of Wisconsin–Madison with a master's degree in education, then taught at Logan High School in La Crosse, Wisconsin, where he was a head basketball coach.

Lukas 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. His first win as a thoroughbred trainer was on October 20, 1977, at Santa Anita Park. The first trainer to earn more than $100 million in purse money, he was the year's top money winner 14 times. He earned purses of more than $300 million during his career.

Lukas first gained major attention in 1980 when he won the Preakness Stakes with Codex. His horses won the Kentucky Derby four times, the Preakness Stakes seven times and the Belmont Stakes four times. His horses won 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. In 2024, the 88-year-old Lukas broke Fitzsimmons' record as the oldest trainer to win a Triple Crown race when Seize the Grey won the 2024 Preakness Stakes; it was the fifteenth time he won a Triple Crown race and the seventh time he won the Preakness Stakes.

He won Breeders' Cup races a record 20 times. Fillies trained by Lukas won the Kentucky Oaks five times. Three of his horses—Lady's Secret in 1986, Criminal Type in 1990 and Charismatic in 1999—won the Eclipse Award for Horse of the Year. He had a total of 25 horses that won various Eclipse Awards. He won the Eclipse Award for Outstanding Trainer four times. In 1999, the same year his horse Charismatic came within two 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, becoming the first person to enter both the Thoroughbred and Quarter Horse Halls of Fame. In 2013, he was awarded the Eclipse Award of Merit for his accomplishments. In 1988, Lukas received the Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement presented by Awards Council member Gene Klein.

Lukas earned criticism for his training and racing methods and the resulting attrition rate of his horses.

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."

Lukas's 4,953rd and final thoroughbred winner was Tour Player, who won at Churchill Downs on June 12, 2025.

Lukas married five times. He had one son, Jeff (1957–2016), with his first wife. Jeff worked for his father as an assistant trainer and was the elder Lukas's right-hand man until December 1993, when Lukas's Derby contender Tabasco Cat seriously injured Jeff in a shedrow accident at Santa Anita Park. The colt broke loose, Jeff tried to stop him by standing in front of him, and the horse slammed into him, throwing him into the air. Jeff landed on concrete and suffered a skull fracture that left him in a coma for several weeks. He suffered permanent brain damage and had changes in personality, vision loss, and damage to his memory. By spring of 1994, he had recovered enough to attempt a return to horse racing, but after a series of less-demanding jobs ending in 2003, it was clear that he could not work safely around racehorses. He also tried living and working near horse farms, but his disabilities were too severe for him to be safe around horses. He ultimately moved to Atoka, Oklahoma, in 2007 to work for David Burrage, who had been the accountant and general manager for Lukas Racing Stables. By that time, Burrage was a banker and owned the First Bank in Atoka, which employed Lukas. His father bought him a home there, and Jeff lived a quiet life until his death at age 58 in March 2016.

Lukas contracted COVID-19 in 2020 but recovered from the illness.

On June 22, 2025, Lukas's family and Churchill Downs announced that Lukas had health issues and would not return to training. Lukas was hospitalized for a severe MRSA infection and declined an aggressive treatment plan, instead choosing to return home for hospice care. His thoroughbreds were transferred to his assistant of over 20 years, Sebastian Nicholl, who remained as their trainer of record until the following month.

Lukas died at his home in Louisville, Kentucky, on June 28, 2025, at the age of 89.

Kentucky Derby

• Winning Colors (1988)
• Thunder Gulch (1995)
• Grindstone (1996)
• Charismatic (1999)

Preakness Stakes

• Codex (1980)
• Tank's Prospect (1985)
• Tabasco Cat (1994)
• Timber Country (1995)
• Charismatic (1999)
• Oxbow (2013)
• Seize the Grey (2024)

Belmont Stakes

• Tabasco Cat (1994)
• Thunder Gulch (1995)
• Editor's Note (1996)
• Commendable (2000)

Breeders' Cup Classic

• Cat Thief (1999)

Breeders' Cup Ladies' Classic

• Life's Magic (1985)
• Lady's Secret (1986)
• Sacahuista (1987)
• Spain (2000)

Breeders' Cup Mile

• Steinlen (1989)

Breeders' Cup Sprint

• Gulch (1988)
• Orientate (2002)

Breeders' Cup Juvenile

• Capote (1986)
• Success Express (1987)
• Is It True (1988)
• Timber Country (1994)
• Boston Harbor (1996)

Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies

• Twilight Ridge (1985)
• Open Mind (1988)
• Flanders (1994)
• Cash Run (1999)
• Folklore (2005)
• Take Charge Brandi (2014)

Breeders' Cup Juvenile Sprint

• Hightail (2012)

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• DeVito, Carlo (2002). D. Wayne: The High-Rolling and Fast Times of America's Premier Horse Trainer. McGraw-Hill. ISBN 0-07-138737-4.

• D. Wayne Lukas at IMDb

• D. Wayne Lukas at the United States National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame

• D. Wayne Lukas AQHA Hall of Fame

• D. Wayne Lukas at the NTRA