{"id":11521085,"date":"2025-06-22T16:30:35","date_gmt":"2025-06-22T20:30:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.baltimoresun.com\/?p=11521085&preview=true&preview_id=11521085"},"modified":"2025-06-23T12:12:02","modified_gmt":"2025-06-23T16:12:02","slug":"hall-of-famer-d-wayne-lukas-has-been-hospitalized-and-will-not-return-to-training-family-says","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.baltimoresun.com\/2025\/06\/22\/hall-of-famer-d-wayne-lukas-has-been-hospitalized-and-will-not-return-to-training-family-says\/","title":{"rendered":"Hall of Famer D. Wayne Lukas has been hospitalized and will not return to training, family says"},"content":{"rendered":"

LOUISVILLE, Ky. \u2014 Hall of Fame horse racing trainer D. Wayne Lukas<\/a> has been hospitalized and will not return to training, his family and Churchill Downs announced Sunday.<\/p>\n

Lukas\u2019 family said the 89-year-old has battled a severe MRSA blood infection that has caused significant damage to his heart and digestive system and worsened preexisting chronic conditions. The family said Lukas declined an aggressive treatment plan that doctors proposed involving multiple surgeries over the coming months and 24\/7 assistance, instead deciding to return home.<\/p>\n

His horses have been transferred to assistant trainer Sebastian \u201cBas\u201d Nicholl, who has been part of Lukas\u2019 team since 2002.<\/p>\n

\u201cWayne built a legacy that will never be matched,\u201d Nicholl said. \u201cEvery decision I make, every horse I saddle, I\u2019ll hear his voice in the back of my mind. This isn\u2019t about filling his shoes \u2014 no one can. It\u2019s about honoring everything that he\u2019s built.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lukas is one of the most accomplished people in the history of the sport. His 15 Triple Crown victories are second only to good friend Bob Baffert, and Lukas has a record-tying 20 in the Breeders Cup.<\/p>\n

He has won the Kentucky Derby four times since 1988. His most recent victory in the Triple Crown came last year with Seize the Grey<\/a> in the Preakness, his seventh \u2014 one short of Baffert\u2019s record.<\/p>\n

\u201cWayne is one of the greatest competitors and most important figures in Thoroughbred racing history,\u201d Churchill Downs president Mike Anderson said. \u201cHe transcended the sport of horse racing and took the industry to new levels. The lasting impact of his character and wisdom, from his acute horsemanship to his unmatched attention to detail, will be truly missed. The enormity of this news is immense, and our prayers are with his family and friends around the world during this difficult time.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lukas is affectionately known around the barns and the racetrack as \u201cCoach\u201d because he coached high school basketball before his professional career with horses began. Even with only 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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Lukas has 4,967 documented victories in thoroughbred racing, with his horses earning more than $310 million from over 30,600 starts.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Hall of Fame horse racing trainer D. Wayne Lukas has been hospitalized and will not return to training, his family and Churchill Downs announced Sunday. Lukas’ family said the 89-year-old has battled a severe MRSA blood infection that has caused significant damage to his heart and digestive system and worsened preexisting […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":227156,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"apple_news_api_created_at":"2025-06-23T03:53:20Z","apple_news_api_id":"0c6a3851-f42e-4cf9-b76d-9abdebbbf9b4","apple_news_api_modified_at":"2025-06-23T16:08:21Z","apple_news_api_revision":"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAQ==","apple_news_api_share_url":"https:\/\/apple.news\/ADGo4UfQuTPm3bZq967v5tA","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_is_hidden":false,"apple_news_is_paid":false,"apple_news_is_preview":false,"apple_news_is_sponsored":false,"apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_metadata":"\"\"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"middle","apple_news_slug":"","apple_news_sections":[],"apple_news_suppress_video_url":false,"apple_news_use_image_component":false,"subheadline":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[101],"tags":[164,507,24457],"feature":[],"location":[],"type-of-work":[],"coauthors":[1963],"class_list":["post-11521085","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports","tag-horse-racing","tag-preakness","tag-social"],"post_status":"","edit_last":0,"edit_lock":0,"highlights":"","original_byline":"","original_canonical":"","original_category":"","original_email":"","original_id":0,"original_pubdate":"","original_source":"","primary_section":"101","primary_tag":507,"print_workflow_body":{"deck_headline":"HORSE RACING","print_title":"Hall of Famer D. Wayne Lukas has been hospitalized and will not return to training, family says","print_subheadline":"","print_priority":"","print_placement":"inside","print_planned_ready":"","print_pub_date":"","print_slug":"TBS-Z-WAYNELUKAS-0624","print_budget_line":"","print_excerpt":"LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Hall of Fame horse racing trainer D. Wayne Lukas has been hospitalized and will not return to training, his family and Churchill Downs announced Sunday. Lukas’ family said the 89-year-old has battled a severe MRSA blood infection that has caused significant damage to his heart and digestive system and worsened preexisting […]","print_notes":"","photo_limits":"Photo limits are: 1 featured image, 5 featured gallery images, 5 embedded gallery images and 5 in-article embedded images. Articles that exceed these limits will not export. Please adjust images to reflect these limits.","print_featured_gallery_richtext":"

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LOUISVILLE, Ky. \u2014 Hall of Fame horse racing trainer D. Wayne Lukas<\/a> has been hospitalized and will not return to training, his family and Churchill Downs announced Sunday.<\/p>

Lukas\u2019 family said the 89-year-old has battled a severe MRSA blood infection that has caused significant damage to his heart and digestive system and worsened preexisting chronic conditions. The family said Lukas declined an aggressive treatment plan that doctors proposed involving multiple surgeries over the coming months and 24\/7 assistance, instead deciding to return home.<\/p>

His horses have been transferred to assistant trainer Sebastian \u201cBas\u201d Nicholl, who has been part of Lukas\u2019 team since 2002.<\/p>

\u201cWayne built a legacy that will never be matched,\u201d Nicholl said. \u201cEvery decision I make, every horse I saddle, I\u2019ll hear his voice in the back of my mind. This isn\u2019t about filling his shoes \u2014 no one can. It\u2019s about honoring everything that he\u2019s built.\u201d<\/p>

Lukas is one of the most accomplished people in the history of the sport. His 15 Triple Crown victories are second only to good friend Bob Baffert, and Lukas has a record-tying 20 in the Breeders Cup.<\/p>

He has won the Kentucky Derby four times since 1988. His most recent victory in the Triple Crown came last year with Seize the Grey<\/a> in the Preakness, his seventh \u2014 one short of Baffert\u2019s record.<\/p>

\u201cWayne is one of the greatest competitors and most important figures in Thoroughbred racing history,\u201d Churchill Downs president Mike Anderson said. \u201cHe transcended the sport of horse racing and took the industry to new levels. The lasting impact of his character and wisdom, from his acute horsemanship to his unmatched attention to detail, will be truly missed. The enormity of this news is immense, and our prayers are with his family and friends around the world during this difficult time.\u201d<\/p>

Lukas is affectionately known around the barns and the racetrack as \u201cCoach\u201d because he coached high school basketball before his professional career with horses began. Even with only 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.<\/p>

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.<\/p>

Lukas has 4,967 documented victories in thoroughbred racing, with his horses earning more than $310 million from over 30,600 starts.<\/p>"},"print_workflow_exported_ts":"1750695153","print_workflow_exported_username":"Tim Schwartz","print_workflow_shapes":"","print_workflow_side":{"print_section":"24227","print_status":"24232","add_export_buttons":"","print_endpoint":"tribune"},"really_short_title":"","short_title":"","syndication_source":{"canonical":null,"id":"cG9zdDoyNTY0OTMwMw==","siteName":"Wire hub","syndicationSourceStack":[{"canonical":null,"id":"cG9zdDoyNTY0OTMwMw==","siteName":"Wire hub","sourceUrl":"https:\/\/wirehub.medianewsgroup.com"}],"source_url":"https:\/\/wirehub.medianewsgroup.com"},"market_neutral_title":"","social_title":"","dfm_hub_post_id":0,"paywall_level":"metered","featured_media_content":{"content_type":"gallery","content":"[gallery ids=\"11521086,11521087,11521088\"]","data":[{"id":11521086,"title":"Lukas_Hospitalized_59457","filename":"Lukas_Hospitalized_59457-1.jpg","url":"https:\/\/www.baltimoresun.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Lukas_Hospitalized_59457-1.jpg","link":"https:\/\/www.baltimoresun.com\/2025\/06\/22\/hall-of-famer-d-wayne-lukas-has-been-hospitalized-and-will-not-return-to-training-family-says\/lukas_hospitalized_59457\/","alt":"","author":"13","description":"","caption":"FILE – Trainer D. 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