Photo essay: D. Wayne Lukas retires
The Biz- June 23, 2025
The news that Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas, gravely ill, would retire from training caught the racing world off-guard. Especially those of us who had seen him just a month ago at Pimlico.
His list of achievements is nearly endless. So extensive, in fact, that he trained for 26 years – winning two Preaknesses, a Belmont, and five Breeders’ Cup races – after his election to the Hall of Fame.
Those Preakness wins were two of the remarkable seven he recorded; only Bob Baffert has more. He also won the Pimlico Special twice when it was a Grade 1 event, including in 1991, when his Farma Way established the current track record of 1:52.55 for 1 3/16 miles. He also annexed a De Francis Dash during that race’s heyday.
He won the Black-Eyed Susan four times in an 11-year span, from 1984 to 1995. The last of those came with the great Hall of Fame filly Serena’s Song.
And, for good Mid-Atlantic measure, the final Grade 1 victory of his $300 million-earning career came last year at Parx Racing, when Seize the Grey, who previously had won the Preakness, took the Pennsylvania Derby
Some pictures to remember:
Lukas spoke often of his fondness for Pimlico. A big part of that was because its compact arrangement — the stakes barns are clustered together — brought the horsemen together, among them old friend and rival Bob Baffert. Photo by Nick Hahn.
His stalls at Pimlico were typically at the back of the Preakness barn next to the horsemen’s hospitality tent (and near the grave for backstretch dog Pimlico Barney). There you could often find him holding court for the assembled media or chatting with old pal Bob Baffert. On occasion, if you caught a break, you’d catch him alone and get a few minutes of wisdom to yourself. Photo by Jim McCue.
The Lukas horses were almost always the first ones on the racetrack each morning, and he would accompany them aboard his pony. One of the enduring images of recent Preaknesses — this one is from 2021 — is that of the octogenarian trainer, continuing to ride out with his horses. Photo by Cynthia Longo.
The controversial Codex gave Lukas his first classic victory in the 1980 Preakness, romping home almost five lengths clear. But that wasn’t the end of the story. Codex had carried Genuine Risk out leaving the far turn — her connections argued he had bumped her, and this his rider had hit the filly with his stick, as well — but the stewards made no change to the order of finish. Genuine Risk’s humans, including owner Bertram R. Firestone, appealed the non-DQ to the Maryland Racing Commission, which let the result stand.
Seize the Grey was Lukas’ final Classic winner, taking the 2024 Preakness and following that up with a win in the G1 Pennsylvania Derby later in the year. In all he won over 200 Grade 1 races, including seven runnings of the Preakness, two Pennsylvania Derbies, and a Haskell, with the filly Serena’s Song. Photo by Jim McCue.
Racing’s a little like life, and Lukas has plenty of nuggets for both.
“The biggest advice I give the guys are that are in the first time Derby or Preakness, it is easy to get caught up in the hype and change up what got you there or what you know is the best thing, such as mirroring the techniques of other successful trainers,” he said in 2018. “It’s a game of experience. There’s no How-To book. There is nowhere to look up, ‘How do you win the Preakness?’ Go talk to Lukas and Baffert.”
