D. Wayne Is Thoroughbred Racing's Answer To Peter Pan
By: William F. Reed

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Apr. 20, 2003) - The most amazing thing about D. Wayne Lukas, arguably the most amazing trainer in Thoroughbred racing history, is that he never gets old. He is racing's answer to Peter Pan. Every spring, it's almost as if he was a kid trainer approaching his first Kentucky Derby.

So here he was on Saturday, April 19, bouncing and smiling as he headed toward the winner's circle after Scrimshaw had won the Coolmore Lexington Stakes at Keeneland. He's 67 in chronological years, but 22 in his heart.

"You got a Derby horse," a man shouted.

"Well," said racing's Peter Pan, "we at least got through this one."

In winning the Lexington by three lengths over an outstanding field, Scrimshaw did more than win another trophy for owners Bob and Beverly Lewis. He put a sparkle in Lukas' eyes, a bit of swagger in his step, a vision of roses in his mind.

Suddenly he was 22 again, with the world and all its possibilities before him.

Sometimes, after they have reached the pinnacle, trainers become jaded or complacent. They go through the motions, yet they're not INVOLVED the way they used to be. They know it and you know it, but nobody talks about it.

But with Lukas, it's different.

The man's passion for excellence knows no boundaries. Every year, it's as if he's starting all over. Forget all the wins in the Triple Crown races and the Breeders' Cup. Forget all those records for wins and earnings. Forget his remarkable impact on the sport for almost 25 years.

Lukas has nothing left to prove. He could retire at this moment and say, "O.K. folks, see if you can top this or that." Yet, in a Kentucky springtime, he becomes a kid again. The man who has saddled more Derby starters than any trainer in history, and who has won the roses four times, wants one more shot.

He's not being greedy. He's really not trying to burnish his image. It's just that he's much like his good friend, basketball coach Bob Knight. Every year is a new one. What you did in the past counts only with historians. You want to compete NOW, not yesterday.

He would not want to admit this, believing that he's 22 years old in another marvelous Kentucky springtime, but Lukas has become Sunny Jim Fitzsimmons or Ben A. Jones. He has reached the point in his life where he's being repaid a bit for what he's done for this game.

So that's why when Scrimshaw moved to the front of this outstanding field and pounded down the stretch, the crowd at Keeneland roared its approval. D. Wayne Lukas was back in the Derby with a legitimate shot. And, by the way, considering the Derby history of the last 20 years, what would the Derby be without D. Wayne Lukas?

In case you were wondering, according to the Encyclopedia Birittanica, Scrimshaw is a decoration of bone or ivory objects, such as whale's teeth and walrus tusks, with fanciful designs, traditionally carved by Anglo-American and Native American whale fishermen with a jackknife or sail needle and emphasized with black pigments.

Among the traditional subjects are whaling scenes, ships, naval battles, flower bouquets, Masonic emblems, coats of arms, and the Irish harp. The earliest surviving examples date from the late 17th century, but the craft reached its peak in 1830-50. It is still practiced by whalers in Siberia and Alaska.

In reading this defintion, the term "flower bouquets" caught my attention.

A garland of Kentucky Derby roses for Scrimshaw.

In the last four years, Lukas has used the Lexington Stakes as a vehicle to Kentucky Derby immortality. In 1999, the the disrespected Charismatic, far back in the Santa Anita Derby, used the race to blossom into a horse that won the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness.

Only last year, another Lukas-trained colt, Proud Citizen, used a victory in the Lexington as a springboard to finish an impressive second in the Derby won by War Emblem.

So D. Wayne is back with a colt that has a legitimate shot to win the roses, which adds an interesting dimension to the 129th Kentucky Derby. Trainer Bobby Frankel holds the strongest hand. He has the deserving favorite in Empire Maker and the likely second choice in Peace Rules.

Yet Frankel has never won a Triple Crown race, the huge monkey -- the gorilla, if you will -- on his back. The one trainer he fears most, whether he admits it or not, is D. Wayne Lukas, the 67-year-old legend who feels as if he's 22 in another remarkable springtime in Kentucky.

Lukas knows how to win the Kentucky Derby. Lukas has Scrimshaw. Lukas will be a story that the national media can't ignore. And deep in the back of his mind, Bobby Frankel, the poker player who seemingly holds the best cards, has to be wondering about a comment Lukas made yesterday:

"I never thought you had to look good in February."

February is for dreamers and pretenders and hopefuls.

Springtime in Kentucky is for the real deal.

And nobody knows that more than D. Wayne Lukas, who's 67 in years but a vibrant youngster in his heart.

Native Kentuckian William F. Reed has been a sports writer in various capacities for 43 years and has missed covering the Kentucky Derby a mere two times since 1966. He has been a high-profile sports writer in Kentucky for the Commonwealth's two largest daily newspapers, the Louisville Courier-Journal and the Lexington Herald-Leader and was a national columnist for Sports Illustrated, covering among other sports, Thoroughbred horse racing and college basketball. Reed currently pens a column for the Louisville Sports Report and covered Kentucky Derby 128 for kentuckyderby.com. He will be filing frequent installments for CDSN's (Churchill Downs Simulcasting Network) websites throughout 2003.

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