The credentials of the most recognizable man in horse racing loomed beyond his right shoulder.
Two plaques in D. Wayne Lukas’ green and white racing colors posted on Barn 44 advertise why a Kentucky Derby held without him has a hole in it–four Kentucky Derby winners and four Kentucky Oaks winners.
It used to be a big deal when a trainer turned up any 3-year-old worthy of running in the world’s most famous horse race. Last year it was a bigger deal when Lukas didn’t have one. This was the man who saddled a record five horses in the 1996 Derby, prompting the late trainer Charlie Whittingham to say, “He’s got us surrounded.”
The 2001 race was the first time since 1981 that the king of the backstretch didn’t have a thoroughbred to saddle on the first Saturday in May.
That made Lukas the highest-profile spectator at Churchill Downs on Derby Day, although he insists he wasn’t frustrated in the role.
“I didn’t feel any different,” Lukas said Tuesday morning as he leaned a foot on a white fence by his barn entrance. “I wasn’t concerned about the streak. But I want to be in it every year.”
He’s in it this year. This weekend Lukas, 66, will send off Proud Citizen, his record 39th Derby hopeful, in the 128th Kentucky Derby. Lukas’ leave of absence is over, and he admitted it is indeed more fun to have a rooting interest when you stand by the rail.
“Oh, yeah, when you’re in it, it’s a whole different ballgame,” he said. “I’m pleased to be in it. And we’re in it.”
The “we’re in it” part means he thinks he has a contender. Realistically, historically, Lukas is always in it if he’s signed up. Charismatic, the 1999 champ, was no Derby favorite. Thunder Gulch, the 1995 winner, wasn’t even considered the best horse of the three Lukas saddled in the race.
In a 20-horse field with few horses that have truly established themselves, who’s to say Proud Citizen won’t find his name being chiseled on Lukas’ personal wall of fame after Saturday?
Proud Citizen, with two victories and a second in six starts and career earnings of $262,117, made his mark by capturing the 1 1/16-mile Lexington Stakes on April 20 and provided Lukas his forum to talk about this Derby as an insider. And make no mistake: The Hall of Famer, who believes it is a Derby trainer’s obligation to promote the sport, is ready, willing and able to talk about any and all aspects of racing.
That includes a new book about him called “D. Wayne” that dissects all of Wayne’s world, from his days growing up in the small northeastern Wisconsin town of Antigo to his time as a high school and college basketball coach to his career as a champion quarter horse trainer.
This is an unauthorized biography by Carlo Devito, and although Lukas didn’t come right out and say he hated it, he did say he had nothing to do with it and it had “probably 5,000 mistakes” in it.
“It is what it is,” Lukas said.
Lukas wore sunglasses in the bright morning sun, a white cowboy hat over his silvery hair, a lightweight blue jacket and blue jeans. Every few minutes he talked about how much he disliked talking to reporters–and then he kept on talking, weighing in on a broad spectrum of topics.
At the 1995 Derby, when trainer Roger Attfield was asked how his horse Talkin’ Man got its name, he said, “I thought he was named for Wayne Lukas.”
But Lukas has the resume to back up his talk. Horses he trained won the Kentucky Derby four times, the Preakness five times and the Belmont four times, as well as a record 15 Breeders’ Cup races and a record of more than $200 million in purses.
Just before he began holding court, a friend greeted Lukas at the barn. He dropped off doughnuts and said, “It’s Derby week with you back.”
Bob Baffert, trainer of Illinois Derby winner War Emblem and Lukas’ toughest rival since the late 1990s, acknowledged Lukas’ stature Tuesday when he said the Kentucky Derby is more exciting when both of them have horses entered.
Lukas still peppers his horse racing speeches with basketball analogies.
“The three most important ingredients in a race are speed, speed and speed,” he said. “It’s just like basketball. You can’t coach height.”
Does Proud Citizen have the speed he needs? Maybe. This is far from the most touted horse Lukas has brought to the Derby, but the Run for the Roses is a race more about mystique and upsets than it is about sticking to form.
Most talk about this Derby focuses on the apparent lack of a dominant horse, about how it is wide open.
The trick to figuring out this Derby–and Lukas offered little insight on this–is how horses from California will do against horses from Florida and against horses from New York.
Lukas went back to basketball on that one, comparing the Derby to postseason matchups between schools from the Southeastern Conference and the Big 12.
“It’s like the NCAA tournament,” he said.
While you won’t catch Lukas badmouthing his entry, he isn’t making Proud Citizen sound like the second coming of Secretariat.
“We belong,” he said.
But he didn’t make any outright prediction on where Proud Citizen would end up.
“It’s a lot easier to analyze it on Sunday morning,” Lukas said.
Not even the most recognizable man in horse racing claims he can tell the future.
