Lukas: 80 and still looking for the next big horse

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – The wins don’t come as readily as they once did, and he’s not as big a player in the major races as he would like, but Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas still loves the thrill of competition.

Lukas, arguably the most accomplished horseman in Thoroughbred racing, turns 80 on Wednesday. He doesn’t have a runner on the Saratoga card, and he’s struggled at this meet, with just one win from 28 starters. He has only 14 wins on the year. Still, Lukas is enjoying life and believes there are still big races left for him to win.

“I feel like I’m turning 50,” Lukas said Monday morning in his Saratoga office. “I don’t feel any different than I did then. My enthusiasm for training and the sport is still as strong as ever. I enjoy the four or five hours on my saddle horse every morning out there with the horses as much as ever. I don’t think anything’s changed much.”

Aside from a herniated disc that required surgery in the early 1980s, Lukas said he hasn’t had any significant health issues. He doesn’t drink or smoke, though his eating habits wouldn’t be endorsed by the American Medical Association.

“All my favorite restaurants have a box that says drive-through,” Lukas said.

Drive is something Lukas has had since switching from Quarter Horses to Thoroughbreds in the 1980s. He trained 23 world champion Quarter Horses and has trained 26 champion Thoroughbreds who have won 31 Eclipse Awards. He said Landaluce, the champion 2-year-old filly of 1982, “for sheer brilliance” was the best horse he’s trained, though Lady’s Secret, Winning Colors, and Serena’s Song rank right up there, too. He feels Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes winner Thunder Gulch might be the most underrated horse he’s trained given what he accomplished.

As far as accomplishments go, Lukas said he’s most proud of being inducted into both the Quarter Horse and Thoroughbred halls of fame and being honored by the American Academy of Achievement in 1988 alongside NFL great Walter Payton, singer Johnny Cash, and Gen. Colin Powell.

Lukas leads all trainers in Breeders’ Cup victories (20) and Triple Crown series victories (14). He won six consecutive Triple Crown races from the 1994 Preakness through the 1996 Kentucky Derby. In 1995, Thunder Gulch won the Derby and Belmont and finished third to stablemate Timber Country in the Preakness.

“It might be more significant than doing it with one,” Lukas said. “You get a real dominant horse like American Pharoah, you got them over a barrel.”

From 1983-97, Lukas led the nation in purse earnings. It was only recently that Lukas’s career purse earnings were surpassed by Todd Pletcher, who, not coincidentally, worked for Lukas for eight years. Other successful trainers to have worked for Lukas include Kiaran McLaughlin, Dallas Stewart, George Weaver, and Mark Hennig.

“You can’t downplay the experience factor,” Lukas said. “A lot of these people will turn to maybe younger trainers because they can manage them a little better, but there’s no ‘how-to’ book. Consequently, your trial-and-error experiences are what really help you in this game, and I think that has shown up in my development of some of the young guys.

“The experience factor that they would take years and years to get on their own we jump-started by saying this won’t work or that will work.”

Though his horse numbers may have dwindled over the years, Lukas trained Will Take Charge, the champion 3-year-old male of 2013, and Take Charge Brandi, the champion 2-year-old filly of 2014.

“And this year’s not over yet,” Lukas said.

Said Pletcher: “His passion for the game is unparalleled, his work ethic is unparalleled. I think his enthusiasm and optimism go together. That’s part of what keeps him going, keeps his drive up. He always feels like there’s another big opportunity around the corner.”

With clients like William Mack and Robert Baker, Ahmed Zayat, and Willis Horton buying or sending him 2-year-olds, Lukas believes he has some stock to work with moving forward. He said his 2-year-olds are a little later developing this year and is hoping they show themselves this fall at Churchill Downs and Keeneland.

“My longtime clients Bob Baker and Bill Mack, their 2-year-olds are going to come around,” Lukas said. “I think we’ll be competitive the next couple of years with that set of horses and their support. Willis Horton is not going to go away. He’s going to get back in the sales this fall.”

Horton, who owns Take Charge Brandi and Will Take Charge, purchased two horses at the Saratoga yearling auction.

“I think my eye in the sales ring is still there,” Lukas said. “I don’t think I’ve lost my eye. I might have lost my mind, but my eye’s still good. I still think I can find a good one in a crowd.”