Renowned horse trainer and icon of the sport passes away at 89, following a sudden hospitalization

D. Wayne Lukas, a legendary figure who achieved great success as a trainer in horse racing and was a prominent figure in the sport for many years, has passed away at 89 years old.

His family said Sunday that Lukas died Saturday night at his Louisville, Kentucky, home. 

Recently, Lukas was admitted to the hospital due to a serious MRSA blood infection that resulted in significant damage to his heart and digestive system, exacerbating pre-existing health issues.

Throughout his career, Lukas’ horses amassed earnings exceeding $300 million, and reports indicate that the esteemed trainer had an estimated net worth of close to $350 million at the time of his passing in 2025.

‘Wayne devoted his life not only to horses but to the industry – developing generations of horsemen and horsewomen and growing the game by inviting unsuspecting fans into the winner’s circle,’ his family said in a statement. 

‘Whether he was boasting about a maiden 2-year-old as the next Kentucky Derby winner or offering quiet words of advice before a big race, Wayne brought heart, grace, and grit to every corner of the sport. His final days were spent at home in Kentucky, where he chose peace, family, and faith.’

D. Wayne Lukas looks on prior to the 150th running of the Preakness Stakes on May 17, 2025

Even approaching his 90th birthday, Lukas saddled up his horses and rode them himself 

Lukas won 15 Triple Crown races, including the Kentucky Derby four times. Only good friend Bob Baffert has more Triple Crown victories, and Lukas owns a record-tying 20 in the Breeders’ Cup World Championships.

‘The whole secret of this game, I think, is being able to read the horse: Read what he needs, what he doesn’t need, what he can’t do, what he can do,’ Lukas said in May before his 34th and final Preakness Stakes. 

‘That’s the whole key. Everybody’s got the blacksmith, everybody’s got to the same bed available, the feed man. We all can hire a good jockey. We all can hire a pretty good exercise rider if we’ve got the means, so what the hell is the difference? The horse is the difference and what we do with him in reading him.’

Lukas was affectionately known around the barns and the racetrack as ‘Coach’ because he coached high school basketball before his professional career with horses began. 

Even with months to go before his 90th birthday, he would get up on his pony in the early morning hours and go out to the track himself, rather than letting his assistants do the day-to-day work.

Lukas sits atop his horse as he watches morning workouts at Churchill Downs back in 2009

Lukas won 15 Triple Crown races, including the Kentucky Derby four times, during his career

Born Darnell Wayne Lukas on Sept. 2, 1935, in Wisconsin as the second of three children, he rose to prominence in the sport with quarter horses in races that are effectively sprints. He moved into thoroughbreds in the late 1970s and won his first Preakness with Codex in 1980.

Lukas has 4,967 documented victories in thoroughbred racing, with his horses earning more than $310 million from more than 30,600 starts.

‘Today we lost one of the great champions of Churchill Downs and one of the most significant figures in Thoroughbred racing over the last 50 years,’ Churchill Downs Inc. CEO Bill Carstanjen said. 

‘We will miss his humor, his wisdom and his unmatched capacity to thrill the fans with the performances of his horses on our sport´s biggest days.’

He was good friends with Bob Baffert (R), the only man to have won more Triple Crown races

Achieving something of a career renaissance over the past decade, one he credits to finding the right owners willing to spend money on horses, Lukas won the Preakness last year with Seize the Grey. Asked what motivates him to keep doing his job well into his late 80s, he gave a pep talk fit for a locker room before a big game.

‘If you have a passion, you eliminate all the excuses,’ Lukas said. ‘That´s how it works. You get up early. You go without a meal. You drive. You go without sleep – as long as you got the passion. 

‘Don’t let that sofa pull you down. It’s a little easy when that alarm goes off to say, “Oh my God, I don´t know if I really want to do this today.” Erase that. 

‘The most important decision you´ll ever make in your life is your attitude decision. Make it early, and make the right one.’