D. Wayne Lukas

Hall of Famer D. Wayne Lukas is a four-time Kentucky Derby winner, and 43rd Derby starter in 2009. Born and raised in Wisconsin, Lukas earned a Master’s Degree in Education at the University of Wisconsin, where he worked as an assistant basketball coach for two years. He became a teacher and was a head high school basketball coach for nine years, including a seven-year stint in LaCrosse, Wis. He trained and raced horses in South Dakota during the summers before turning to training full-time. Moved to Oklahoma and on to Texas as a Quarter Horse trainer before relocating to California in 1972. He established himself as a top Quarter Horse trainer, averaging more than $1 million in purse earnings a year and developing 23 Quarter Horse champions before turning to Thoroughbreds on a full-time basis in 1978. His first major horse on the national stage was Terlingua, dam of Storm Cat and one of the best juvenile fillies of 1978. Lukas’ first big break with Thoroughbreds came in 1980 when Hall of Fame trainer John Nerud gave him the 3-year-old Codex, to train for Tartan Farm. Codex won the 1980 Preakness. A four-time Eclipse Award winner (1985-87 and 1994), Lukas passed Charlie Whittingham as the all-time leading money winner in 1988 and was the first trainer whose horses earned more than $100 million in purse money. He later was the first to reach the $200 million plateau. Folklore's title as the outstanding 2-year-old filly of 2005 pushed Lukas’ record of Thoroughbred champions to 24. His Eclipse Awards total includes three Horse of the Year winners: Lady’s Secret (1986), Criminal Type (1990) and Charismatic (1999). He's tied with Sunny Jim Fitzsimmons for the most Triple Crown race victories, 13. That total is the sum of four Kentucky Derbys, five Preaknesses and four Belmonts. Beginning with Tabasco Cat's 1994 Preakness win, Lukas won a record six consecutive Triple Crown races. He's also a major player in Breeders’ Cup history and is the only trainer to have had at least one starter every year from its inception until 2006, winning a record 18 races.