Kentucky Derby 2026: Lukas's absence looms large
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LOUISVILLE, Ky. – One of the spires might as well be missing.
This is the first Kentucky Derby week in the memory of most at Churchill Downs in which the legendary D. Wayne Lukas is not on his stable pony pre-dawn, with an eagle eye on his own horses and the competition. The Hall of Fame trainer died last June 28 at age 89.
“For Wayne, this was what he lived for,” said trainer Todd Pletcher, one of Lukas's many successful former assistants. “It won’t be the same without him, for sure.”
Lukas started 51 horses in the Kentucky Derby, saddling the last, American Promise, just eight weeks before his death. He won the race four times among his 15 overall Triple Crown race victories – with Winning Colors (1988), Thunder Gulch (1995), Grindstone (1996), and Charismatic (1999). He won the Kentucky Oaks five times to share the all-time record with Woody Stephens, sending out Blush With Pride (1982), Lucky Lucky Lucky (1984), Open Mind (1989), Seaside Attraction (1990), and Secret Oath (2022).
Placards marking those victories remain on the backstretch at Churchill, along with new signage recognizing the trainer. Lukas became a fixture at Churchill beginning in 1989, and his longtime home was Barn 44, adjacent to the gap onto the racetrack near the six-furlong pole. That location became commonly known as the “Lukas Gap,” and now Churchill Downs has made it official with a sign on the fence alongside the gap.
Moving into Barn 44 this spring was Mike Maker, an assistant to Lukas for a decade, including during some of the barn’s glory days of the mid- to late 1990s.
“It’s good to be home,” Maker said, standing outside Barn 44. “Wish it was under different circumstances, but we’ll try to represent Wayne.”
Pletcher and Maker are two of many successful Lukas assistants, a group that includes Bobby Barnett, Randy Bradshaw, Mark Hennig, Kiaran McLaughlin, Dallas Stewart, George Weaver, and Sebastian "Bas" Nicholl. The training tree has developed several other branches. For example, Pletcher’s former assistants include Michael McCarthy, and Weaver spent time with Pletcher's operation as well. Brad Cox worked under Stewart, and Joe Sharp is a former Maker assistant.
“It’s an incredible tree, really, when you look at all the different branches and how many people are currently training who either worked for Wayne, or worked for me or worked for one of the other assistants,” Pletcher said. “It truly branches out. It just shows you how many lives Wayne directly or indirectly touched.”
Those lives aren’t limited to former assistants.
“I miss Wayne,” said Bob Baffert, a longtime competitor who became a close friend with the late trainer. “I miss talking to him. Without him here, it’s a little different vibe.”