D. Wayne Lukas a frequent history maker at Churchill Downs

Jun 25, 2025 Vance Hanson/Brisnet.com

D. Wayne Lukas receives congratulations from Mystik Dan's trainer Kenny McPeek after the Preakness (Photo by Horsephotos.com)

The Kentucky Derby (G1) is, of course, the one race held at Churchill Downs that every horseman wants to win. Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas had the good fortune to win the Derby four times, his first coming in 1988 with the filly Winning Colors.

But Lukas' success under the Twin Spires wasn't limited to the Run for the Roses. Here are other notable Churchill Downs highlights from Lukas' legendary career.

Kentucky Oaks

Lukas shares the title of most Kentucky Oaks (G1) wins by a trainer (5) with fellow Hall of Fame inductee Woody Stephens. His best Oaks winner, Open Mind, won the 1989 edition as a heavy 3-10 favorite, but in general, Lukas played the role of spoiler in the Oaks.

Lukas' first Oaks winner was Blush With Pride, who in 1982 toppled juvenile champion Before Dawn. Lucky Lucky Lucky won two years later over the favored My Darling One, while Seaside Attraction shocked Hall of Fame legend Go for Wand in 1990. Lukas' last Oaks win came with Secret Oath, who defeated eventual 2022 division champion Nest.

1988 Breeders' Cup

No trainer had as successful a Breeders' Cup in its original one-day, seven-race format as Lukas did when Churchill first hosted the event in 1988.

Lukas won the Sprint (G1) with Gulch and then the Juvenile Fillies (G1) with Open Mind, who was part of a five-horse pari-mutuel entry of Lukas trainees. In fact, Lukas-trained fillies ran 1-2-3 in the Juvenile Fillies, with Darby Shuffle and Lea Lucinda rounding out the trifecta.

Later in the card, the Lukas-trained colt Is It True shocked odds-on favorite Easy Goer in the Juvenile (G1), handing the future champion and Hall of Famer his only stakes loss of the season.

Lukas' afternoon would have been even better if Winning Colors had held off Personal Ensign in an epic renewal of the Distaff (G1). The Lukas-trained Steinlen also settled for silver, by a wider margin, to the brilliant French filly Miesque in the Mile (G1).

Three wins and three second-place finishes in five of the seven Breeders' Cup races were quite an achievement.

Clark Handicap

Lukas won the historic Clark H. twice, and in both cases, the late-season score helped clinch the respective three-year-old titles for the duo.

Three weeks after running second to longshot stablemate Spain in the 2000 Breeders' Cup Distaff, Lukas entered Surfside against older males in the Clark. Surfside coasted home by four lengths in the then Grade 2 event, becoming the first and to date only three-year-old filly ever to win the 151-year-old race.

The Clark was a Grade 1 event by the time Will Take Charge contested the 2013 edition. Despite having gone unplaced in all three Triple Crown races, Will Take Charge's late-season push, capped by a head victory in the Clark over prolific older star Game On Dude, proved enough to secure division honors.