D. Wayne Lukas retires suddenly in face of severe medical issues

Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas will not return to racing after being diagnosed with severe medical problems, according to a news release Sunday from his family.

The release said 89-year-old trainer had suffered a Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infection that caused "significant damage to his heart (and) digestive system and worsened preexisting chronic conditions."

"Doctors proposed an aggressive treatment plan involving multiple surgeries and procedures over several months," it said, noting that even if those were successful he "would require 24/7 care to manage daily activities."

"After thoughtful discussions, Wayne has chosen to decline the aggressive treatment plan and return home to spend his remaining time with his wife Laurie, his grandchildren and great-grandchildren," it said.

The release said Sebastian "Bas" Nicholl, who joined Lukas's team in 2002, will assume command of Lukas' stable, "maintaining the Lukas name until the family can smoothly transition the company to Bas's full control."

Lukas, who began his career as a quarter horse trainer, has been conditioning Thoroughbreds since 1974. His lifetime record stood at 30,436: 4,953-4,254-3,809 and more than $300 million in purses as of Sunday, according to Equibase.

Tributes began pouring in as soon as word of Lukas' retirement was announced. 

“Wayne is one of the greatest competitors and most important figures in Thoroughbred racing history,” said Mike Anderson, president of Churchill Downs Racetrack. “He transcended the sport of horse racing and took the industry to new levels. The lasting impact of his character and wisdom – from his acute horsemanship to his unmatched attention to detail – will be truly missed. The enormity of this news is immense, and our prayers are with his family and friends around the world during this difficult time.”

Darrell Wayne Lukas was born Sept. 2, 1935, in Antigo, Wis., 155 miles northwest of Milwaukee. He earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in education at the University of Wisconsin. While he was a young teacher, Lukas also worked with high-school basketball teams. That was a steppingstone to his getting the nickname Coach, which stuck for the rest of his life.

Always keenly interested in horses, Lukas moved to California in the 1960s. That led him to a successful 10-year career training quarter horses before he switched to Thoroughbreds full time in 1978. Two years later he had his first classic winner with Codex in the Preakness Stakes. The history-making filly Winning Colors provided Lukas with his first of four Kentucky Derby triumphs.

Lukas had a run from the 1994 Preakness through the 1996 Kentucky Derby when he won six consecutive U.S. classics with four horses. The closest he came to the Triple Crown was in 1999, when Charismatic won the Derby and Preakness but finished third and got hurt in the Belmont Stakes.

He outlived his most loyal owners, and that led to a drop-off in business early in the 21st century. Still, Lukas had his moments. In 2013 he and jockey Gary Stevens teamed to take the 2013 Preakness with Oxbow. In 2014 Lukas collected his last victory in the Breeders’ Cup when Take Charge Brandi finished first in the Juvenile Fillies.

Seize the Grey carried Lukas back into the spotlight when he won the 2024 Preakness on a wet track at Pimlico. Lukas’s walk from his second-tier perch at the ancient track to the infield winner’s circle was interrupted by well-wishers who included his peers and rivals. At 88, he set a high bar as the oldest trainer to win a Triple Crown race.

Owned by MyRacehorse, the micro-share syndicate that gathered 2,570 partners at $127 per share, Seize the Grey represented the newest style of clients for a trainer who was no stranger to the bluest of bloods in the grandest of racing traditions. The colt’s performance in the 2024 Pennsylvania Derby provided Lukas with the last of his 222 Grade 1 triumphs, according to Equibase records dating to 1976.

Lukas was married five times. Laurie Lukas, his wife of more than 11 years and an accomplished horsewoman herself, was often at his side at the racetrack in his later years. He had one son with his first wife. Jeff Lukas died in 2016 at age 58 after suffering the lingering effects of a skull fracture in a 1993 stable accident at Santa Anita. 

An innovator from his early days in the sport, he revolutionized the sport in the early 1980s by flying his top horses to compete in stakes races around the country. 

Among his many other achievements: 

- He became the first trainer to surpass $100 million and later $200 million and $300 million in career purse earnings, leading U.S. trainers in earnings for 14 of 15 years beginning in 1983.

- He is the leading trainer in Breeders’ Cup history, with 20 victories.

- Lukas has trained 25 champions who have won Eclipse Awards, including three Horses of the Year: Lady’s Secret (1986), Criminal Type (1990) and Charismatic (1999).

- He has won the Eclipse Award for outstanding trainer four times.

- In 2007, he became the first person inducted into both the Thoroughbred and Quarter Horse Halls of Fame.

- In 2024, at age 88, he made history by becoming the oldest trainer to win a Triple Crown race when Seize the Grey won the Preakness Stakes.

Throughout his career, Lukas has been known for mentoring future top trainers, including Todd Pletcher, Kiaran McLaughlin, Mike Maker, Dallas Stewart, George Weaver and Michael McCarthy.  

The statement from his family made note of that part of his legacy.

"Wayne is proud of his many former assistants who have achieved greatness, and he is confident that Bas will follow in their footsteps, carrying his unwavering support and endorsement," it said.