Lukas fingerprints all over this Kentucky Derby

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Hall of Fame trainer Wayne Lukas has saddled 47 Kentucky Derby starters, winning four editions of the classic along the way. He has just one shot at his fifth Derby victory on Saturday, sending out longshot Mr. Z. However, don’t think the Lukas influence isn’t all over this Derby. Eight of the projected 20 starters are trained by Lukas or a former assistant.

Todd Pletcher will saddle the quartet of Carpe Diem, Materiality, Itsaknockout, and Stanford, while Kiaran McLaughlin and Mike Maker train Frosted and International Star, respectively. George Weaver, who worked under both Lukas and Pletcher before going out on his own, participates in his first Derby with Tencendur.

“We don’t keep [assistants] around if we don’t think they’re gonna make it,” Lukas said. “I tell them when they go to work for me, it’s a two-way street. … If I waste two or three years on you, I’ve wasted my time, too. When they make it in this barn, they’re probably gonna make it out there on their own pretty good. And most of them have”

Former Lukas assistants are 60-1-5-3 in the Derby. Forty of those starters, including 2010 winner Super Saver, belong to Pletcher, whose imposing stable often turns out multiple runners in the Derby.

Pletcher, who took out his trainer’s license in December 1995, said of Lukas: “It’s always good to have him in the race. He brings some charisma and some history to the race. He’s been part of it for so long. It’s a great system to learn under.”

Lukas’s four Derby victories came with Winning Colors (1988), Thunder Gulch (1995), Grindstone (1996), and Charismatic (1999). He owns a record 14 classic victories, beginning with his first series starter, 1980 Preakness winner Codex, and most recently taking the 2013 Preakness with Oxbow.

Work ethic, discipline, and paying attention to detail are what make a good assistant, Lukas said.

Lukas sets the bar high with his own work ethic. About to turn 80, he is on his pony when the track opens at 5:45 a.m. each day and shows no signs of slowing down.

“I’ve got a small group of 2-year-olds in already,” Lukas said. “I’m looking at them and looking at their strides and abilities and seeing if maybe there’s one in there for next year already.”

A previous version of this article had the incorrect year for Codex's Preakness victory. Codex won the race in 1980, not 1981.