D. Wayne Lukas Dies at 89, Legendary Horse Trainer Won 15 Triple Crown Races

D. Wayne Lukas, a legendary horse trainer and icon in the sport, died Saturday at the age of 89.

Lukas' family announced his death on Sunday, per The Athletic's Rebecca Tauber.

According to Tauber, a severe MRSA blood infection hospitalized Lukas last week, but he returned to his home in Louisville, Ky., after declining an aggressive treatment plan.

“We are deeply grateful for the outpouring of love, prayers, and support from all corners of the racing community — from racetracks across the country to lifelong friends and respected rivals, and from fans who never missed a post parade when ‘Lukas’ was listed in the program,” his family said in a statement.

Lukas won 15 Triple Crown races across his six-decade career, the second-most only to Bob Baffert. He won the Kentucky Derby four times and has a record-tying 20 wins in the Breeders' Cup World Championships. He won 4,987 documented Thoroughbred races, and his horses have won more than $310 million in more than 30,600 starts.

A three-time Horse of the Year trainer and four-time Eclipse Award winner for outstanding trainer, Lukas is in both the National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame and the American Quarter Horse Hall of Fame.

“A four-time winner of the Kentucky Derby, today we lost one of the great champions of Churchill Downs and one of the most significant figures in Thoroughbred racing over the last 50 years,” said Bill Carstanjen, CEO of Churchill Downs Incorporated. “We will miss his humor, his wisdom and his unmatched capacity to thrill the fans with the performances of his horses on our sport’s biggest days.”

Lukas' final win came when Seize the Grey upset Kentucky Derby winner Mystik Dan at the Preakness Stakes in 2024.