Legendary Hall of Fame Trainer D. Wayne Lukas Hospitalized; Horses Transferred to Veteran Assistant Sebastian 'Bas' Nicholl

Jun 22, 2025

Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas, one of the most prolific trainers and influences in horse racing history, has been hospitalized in Louisville, Ky. and will not return to training, according to Lukas family members.

According to the family, Lukas, 89, has battled a severe infection that has worsened his condition. Lukas has declined an aggressive treatment plan and will soon return home to spend his remaining time with wife Laurie, grandchildren Brady Wayne Lukas (Dani) and Kelly Roy (David) and great grandchildren Johnny Roy, Thomas Roy, Walker Wayne Lukas and Quinn Palmer Lukas.

The family is requesting privacy during this difficult time.

In a detailed and smooth succession plan put in place by Lukas Enterprises Inc., the horses previously under Lukas’ care have been transferred to his veteran assistant Sebastian “Bas” Nicholl.

Enshrined in horse racing’s Hall of Fame in 1999, Lukas is a four-time winner of the Kentucky Derby presented by Woodford Reserve and five-time winner of the Longines Kentucky Oaks. He was the trainer of 26 Eclipse Award champions, including three that were crowned Horse of the Year.

“Wayne is one of the greatest competitors and most important figures in Thoroughbred racing history,” said Mike Anderson, President of Churchill Downs Racetrack. “He 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.”

During his six-decade career, Lukas amassed 4,967 documented Thoroughbred wins and his horses earned more than $301 million from 30,607 starts, including 1,105 stakes wins of which 637 were of the graded stakes variety.

His final triumph came June 12 at Churchill Downs with 4-year-old colt Tour Player in a second-level allowance over seven furlongs. The horse was transferred to Lukas for him to train by his close friend and fellow Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert, whose wife Jill owned the son of American Pharoah.

Nicholl, a native of England, spent eight years in the British Army and rose to the rank of captain. He was a tank commander in Operation Desert Storm during the First Gulf War in the early 1990s. Nicholl left the British Army in 1995 to work in horse racing for prominent Irish steeplechase trainer Edward O’Grady. In 1999, he came to the United States to work with trainer Pat Byrne before joining Lukas’ operation on Jan. 18, 2002.

“Wayne built a legacy that will never be matched,” Nicholl said. “Every decision I make, every horse I saddle, I’ll hear his voice in the back of my mind. This isn’t about filling his shoes – no one can – it’s about honoring everything that he’s built.”

Horses under Lukas’ care posted 15 victories in Triple Crown races, which is second only to Baffert’s 17. He trained a record-equaling 20 winners of Breeders’ Cup Championship races. Additionally, Lukas earned four Eclipse Awards that honored him as the nation’s top trainer and was a 14-time national leader in money-won (1983-92 and ’94-97).

Lukas had a stable based at Churchill Downs since 1989, and the gap near the six-furlong pole is commonly referred to as “The Lukas Gap” because it’s near his Barn 44. In 2015, Churchill Downs renamed the former Homecoming Classic to the Lukas Classic to salute Lukas’ accomplishments, contributions and influence on Churchill Downs, the Kentucky Derby, Kentucky Oaks and the horse industry. Since then, the 1 1/8-mile Lukas Classic for older horses has grown from a $175,000 Listed race into a prominent Grade II event with a $500,000 purse staged five weeks in advance of the Breeders’ Cup Classic.

At Churchill Downs, Lukas, an 11-time local champion trainer, ranks third in career stakes victories (78), fifth in career earnings ($39,198,856) and sixth in total wins (562).

Lukas, whose given first name is Darrell, was born Sept. 2, 1935 – the second of three children – and raised on a 10-acre farm in a small farming community outside of his birthplace, Antigo, Wisc. During his youth, he raced his pony at the Antigo County Fairgrounds and began developing skills for evaluating and buying horses before he was in high school. With the help of his friend Clyde Rice – a successful horseman and father of trainer Linda Rice – Lukas bought mustangs headed to the slaughterhouse, broke and trained them and resold them in auctions.

Lukas went to college and graduated with a master’s degree in education from the University of Wisconsin where he later worked as an assistant basketball coach for two years. He taught high school and was a head basketball coach for nine years, which included a seven-year stint in LaCrosse, Wisc. Those formidable years led to his respectful nickname around the racetrack later in life: “Coach.”

In 1968, Lukas began to train and race Quarter Horses at Park Jefferson in South Dakota during the summers before turning to training full-time. He settled in California in 1972 and quickly established himself as a top Quarter Horse trainer, averaging more than $1 million in purse earnings a year.

Lukas, who would be inducted in the American Quarter Horse Hall of Fame in 2007 to become the first person to enter both the Thoroughbred and Quarter Horse shrines, developed 24 Quarter Horse champions and was a three-time leading Quarter Horse trainer in earnings (1974-76) and races won (1970, ’74-75). He once regarded iconic Quarter Horse Dash For Cash, the 1976-77 World Champion, as the best horse he’s started. In California, he saddled him to victory in the Los Al Derby trials and final and Champion of Champions in 1976, and Vessels Maturity, Los Alamitos Championship and a Champion of Champions repeat in ’77.

Lukas, who collected his first documented win as a Thoroughbred trainer on Oct. 20, 1977 at Santa Anita at age 42, turned to training Thoroughbreds on a full-time basis in 1978 with seven horses. He arrived at Southern California’s Santa Anita Park and trimmed his barn with white picket fencing, beds of flowers and freshly-painted feed tubs used only for decoration – a trademark he used throughout his career.

Effervescing was one of Lukas’ early success stories. The 5-year-old gave Lukas his first graded stakes win when he won the $110,500 American Handicap (GII) on turf at Hollywood Park by three lengths on July 4, 1978. Immediately thereafter, Lukas convinced co-owner Albert Yank to wheel the son of Le Fabuleux back five days later to win the July 10 Citation Handicap on dirt. Laffit Pincay Jr. was aboard for both triumphs.

Lukas’ first major Thoroughbred on the national stages was Terlingua, the dam of Storm Cat and one of the best juvenile fillies of 1978. His first major break with Thoroughbreds came in 1979 when Hall of Fame trainer John Nerud, the manager of Mrs. James Binger’s Tartan Farm, gave him Codex to train. The following year, Codex scored an upset win in the March 30 Santa Anita Derby and then won the April 13 Hollywood Derby by two lengths. He wasn’t nominated to the Kentucky Derby so he was pointed to the 1980 Preakness and won by 4 ¾ lengths after surviving a claim of foul for possible interference with Kentucky Derby winner Genuine Risk while swinging wide under Angel Cordero Jr. on the turn for home.

Lukas revolutionized the training of Thoroughbreds in the late 1970s and 1980s. He employed skillful assistant trainers and had horses in training from coast to coast. Top horses from his high-powered satellite stables would regularly fly into town for top stakes events at locales around the country, which led to the popular racetrack phrase “D. Wayne off the plane.”

The Lukas “training tree” includes former assistants Bobby Barnett, Randy Bradshaw, Mark Hennig, Mike Maker, Kiaran McLaughlin, Todd Pletcher, Dallas Stewart and George Weaver, just to name a few.

His favorite assistant, however, was his late and only son Jeff, who suffered devastating injuries during a morning training accident at Santa Anita in December 1993 when precocious 2-year-old and emerging star Tabasco Cat broke loose from his handlers. Jeff Lukas, 36, stepped in front of the runaway horse and tried to stop him but the colt slammed into him, shattered his skull and left him in a coma for several weeks which resulted in permanent brain damage. Jeff was bravely recuperating and recovered well enough to eventually return to work on a part-time basis in June 1994 but it lasted for a brief period. After residing in the small town of Atoka, Okla., Jeff Lukas passed away at age 58 on March 24, 2016.

Lukas, who was well-known for his sharp eye and often was described as flashy, self-confident and a sharp dresser, actively recruited wealthy owners that would spend millions of dollars at the yearling horse sales. One of his most principal clients in the early years was former San Diego Chargers owner Eugene Klein, who would buy a $575,000 filly named Winning Colors in 1986 that would become Lukas’ first Kentucky Derby winner.

On behalf of a four-man syndicate made up of himself, Klein, Bob French and Mel Hatley, Lukas was the underbidder on the world-record $13.1 million yearling that sold in 1985. Klein once told a Sports Illustrated reporter, “It’s said that no horse owner can give Lukas a credit card that the trainer can’t max out!”

Lukas had many important clients through the years and won classics for Tartan Farm; Klein; William T. Young’s Overbrook Farm; David P. Reynolds; Michael Tabor; Gainesway Stable; Bob and Beverly Lewis; Brad Kelley’s Calumet Farm; and the MyRacehorse fractional ownership group. Lukas also trained for Mary Lou Whitney, M.C. Hammer, Mike Francesa, Bobby Knight, Pete Newell, Bill Parcells, Paul Hornung and the first horse for the Churchill Downs Racing Club – Warrior’s Club who boasted of a record of 32-5-9-5—$854,779 from 2016-19 including a win in the $250,000 Commonwealth (GIII) in 2018.

Lukas would routinely establish records in the sport. He won 92 stakes races in 1987, a record that was held until his former assistant Pletcher won 100 in 2006. Lukas won 53 graded stakes races in 1987, a mark that wouldn’t be eclipsed until Pletcher won 57 in 2006. In 1988, Lukas earned $17,842,358, which was a single-season record held until Hall of Fame trainer Bobby Frankel won $19,147,129 in 2003.

Lukas passed Hall of Fame trainer Charlie Whittingham as the sport’s all-time leading money winner in 1988. He became the first trainer to amass $100 million in career earnings in 1990 and $200 million in 1999.

But there is a mark that might never be broken. In 1994-95, Lukas won a record six-consecutive Triple Crown races: 1994 Preakness (Tabasco Cat), ’94 Belmont (Tabasco Cat), ’95 Kentucky Derby (Thunder Gulch), ’95 Preakness (Timber Country), ’95 Belmont (Thunder Gulch) and ’96 Kentucky Derby (Grindstone). In ’95, he became the first and only trainer to sweep the Triple Crown classics in the same year with different horses. Lukas made it 7-of-8 in Triple Crown classics when Editor’s Note won the ’96 Belmont.

Lukas loved the spotlight and often shined at championship events. He started horses in the Breeders’ Cup every year from its inception from 1984-2006 and had runners sparingly thereafter for a total of 169 starters. Three of his 20 Breeders’ Cup wins came during the 1988 renewal at Churchill Downs: Is It True (Juvenile), Open Mind (Juvenile Fillies) and Gulch (Sprint). In fact, Lukas’ Open Mind, Darby Shuffle and Lea Lucinda ran 1-2-3 as part of a five-horse entry in that year’s Juvenile Fillies.

Lukas had a penchant for victories in the main arena at long odds. Lukas had often said: “You can’t win it if you’re not in it.” His notable victorious longshots included Spain in the 2000 Breeders’ Cup Distaff at 55-1; Cash Run in the 1999 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies at 32-1; Charismatic in the 1999 Kentucky Derby at 31-1; Stellar Jayne in the 2004 Mother Goose at 29-1; Codex in the 1980 Santa Anita Derby at 25-1; Thunder Gulch in the 1995 Kentucky Derby at 24-1; Cat Thief in the 1999 Breeders’ Cup Classic at 19-1; Commendable in the 2000 Belmont at 18-1; and Is It True over odds-on favorite and eventual juvenile champion Easy Goer in the 1988 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile at 9-1.

Lukas conditioned Serena’s Song (1994-96), Spain (1999-2002) and Azeri (2001-04) to become North America’s leading money-winning females (a record since eclipsed by Zenyatta). He was no stranger to pitting females against males with success: Winning Colors won the Santa Anita Derby by 7 ½ lengths and the Kentucky Derby in 1988; Althea won three graded stakes in five tries against males, including the 1984 Arkansas Derby; Lady’s Secret, who had seven attempts against males, won the 1986 Whitney Handicap; Serena’s Song, who faced males seven times, won the 1985 Haskell Invitational and Jim Beam (she was 16th in the 1995 Kentucky Derby); and Surfside won the 2000 Clark Handicap by four lengths in her second attempt versus the boys (she was fifth in the 2000 Santa Anita Derby). Other females Lukas tested against males included Life’s Magic, who was second in the 1983 Norfolk and 1985 Brooklyn Handicap (she finished eighth in the 1984 Kentucky Derby); Sacahuista, who was beaten a nose in the 1986 Del Mar Futurity; Family Style, who finished third in the 1986 Arkansas Derby; Cara Rafaela, who was fourth in the 1996 El Camino Real Derby; Sharp Cat, who finished sixth in the 1997 Santa Anita Derby; and Azeri, who finished eighth in the Metropolitan Handicap and fifth in the Breeders’ Cup Classic in 2004.

In addition to his training titles at Churchill Downs, he’s been the leading trainer at major tracks such as Belmont Park, Hollywood Park, Keeneland, Oak Tree, Oaklawn Park, Santa Anita, Saratoga and Turfway. He won the 2011 training title at Oaklawn Park with 27 wins from 126 starters – his first title since the 2005 Turfway Fall title.

During the latter part of his career, Lukas would typically invite a randomly chosen child from the grandstand to join him in the winner’s circle after a victory for the winning photo and would purchase a winner’s circle photo for that child’s family.

The Lukas family wrote in a letter to clients, “Wayne is proud of his many former assistants who have achieved greatness, and he is confident that Bas will follow in their footsteps, carrying his unwavering support and endorsement.”

TOP HORSES AND ACCOMPLISHMENTS

·        Four-time Kentucky Derby winning trainer: Winning Colors (1988), Thunder Gulch (1995), Grindstone (1996) and Charismatic (1999).

·        Seven-time Preakness Stakes winning trainer: Codex (1980), Tank’s Prospect (1985), Tabasco Cat (1994), Timber Country (1995), Charismatic (1999), Oxbow (2013) and Seize the Grey (2024).

·        Four-time Belmont Stakes winning trainer: Tabasco Cat (1994), Thunder Gulch (1995), Editor’s Note (1996) and Commendable (2000).

·        Won a record six consecutive Triple Crown races: 1994 Preakness (Tabasco Cat), ’94 Belmont (Tabasco Cat), ’95 Kentucky Derby (Thunder Gulch), ’95 Preakness (Timber Country), ’95 Belmont (Thunder Gulch) and ’96 Kentucky Derby (Grindstone). He made it 7-of-8 Triple Crown classics when Editor’s Note won the 1996 Belmont.

·        Five-time Kentucky Oaks winning trainer: Brush With Pride (1982), Lucky Lucky Lucky (1984), Open Mind (1989), Seaside Attraction (1990) and Secret Oath (2022).

·        Three-time 3-time Horse of the Year trainer: Lady’s Secret (1986), Criminal Type (1990) and Charismatic (1999).

·        Trainer of a record 26 Eclipse Award champions: Landaluce (1982 Two-Year-Old Filly), Althea (1983 Two-Year-Old Filly), Life’s Magic (1984 Three-Year-Old Filly), Life’s Magic (1985 Older Female), Family Style (1985 Two-Year-Old Filly), Lady’s Secret (1986 Horse of the Year & Older Female), Capote (1986 Two-Year-Old Male), North Sider (1987 Older Female), Sacahuista (1987 Three-Year-Old Filly), Winning Colors (1988 Three-Year-Old Filly), Open Mind (1988 Two-Year-Old Filly), Gulch (1988 Sprinter), Steinlen-GB (1989 Turf Male), Open Mind (1989 Three-Year-Old Filly), Criminal Type (1990 Horse of the Year & Older Male), Timber Country (1994 Two-Year-Old Male), Flanders (1994 Two-Year-Old Filly), Thunder Gulch (1995 Three-Year-Old Male), Serena’s Song (1995 Three-Year-Old Filly), Golden Attraction (1995 Two-Year-Old Filly), Boston Harbor (1996 Two-Year-Old Male), Charismatic (1999 Horse of the Year & Three-Year-Old Male), Surfside (2000 Three-Year-Old Filly), Orientate (2002 Sprinter), Azeri (2004 Older Female), Folklore (2005 Two-Year-Old Filly), Will Take Charge (2013 Three-Year-Old Male) and Take Charge Brandi (2014 Two-Year-Old Filly).

·        Other Grade I winners include Grand Canyon (1989 Norfolk and Hollywood Futurity); Farma Way (1991 Santa Anita Handicap and Pimlico Special Handicap); A Wild Ride (1991 Shuvee Handicap and Hempstead Handicap); Corporate Report (1991 Travers); Salt Lake (1991 Hopeful); Twilight Agenda (1991 Meadowlands Cup Handicap); Harlan (1994 Vosburgh); Hennessy (1995 Hopeful); Tipically Irish (1995 Oak Leaf), Cara Rafaela (1995 Hollywood Starlet); Honour and Glory (1996 Metropolitan Handicap); Sharp Cat (1996 Matron and Hollywood Starlet and 1997 Las Virgenes, Santa Anita Oaks and Acorn); Marlin (1996 Secretariat, 1996 Hollywood Derby, 1997 San Juan Capistrano and 1997 Arlington Million); City Band (1996 Oak Leaf); Victory Speech (1997 Strub); Pearl City (1997 Ballerina Handicap); Grand Slam (1997 Futurity & Champagne at Belmont Park); Love Lock (1997 Hollywood Starlet); Cape Town (1998 Florida Derby); Well Chosen (1998 Ashland); Tactical Cat (1998 Hollywood Futurity); High Yield (1999 Hopeful at Saratoga and Fountain of Youth at Gulfstream Park and Blue Grass at Keeneland in 2000); Yes It’s True (1999 DeFrancis Memorial); Yonaguska (2000 Hopeful at Saratoga); Scorpion (2001 Jim Dandy at Saratoga); Snow Ridge (2002 San Carlos Handicap at Santa Anita); Stellar Jayne (2004 Mother Goose and Gazelle at Belmont Park); Consolidator (2004 Breeders’ Futurity at Keeneland); Dublin (2009 Hopeful at Saratoga); Strong Mandate (2013 Hopeful); and Sporting Chance (2017 Hopeful).

·        Won the 1999 Breeders’ Cup Classic at Gulfstream Park with 19-1 longshot Cat Thief.

·        Five-time winner of the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile: Capote (1986), Success Express (1987), Is It True (1988), Timber Country (1994) and Boston Harbor (1996).

·        Six-time winner of the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies: Twilight Ridge (1985), Open Mind (1988), Flanders (1994), Cash Run (1999), Folklore (2005) and Take Charge Brandi (2014).

·        Four-time winner of the Breeders’ Cup Distaff: Life’s Magic (1985), Lady’s Secret (1986), Sacahuista (1987) and Spain (2000).

·        Two-time Breeders’ Cup Sprint winner: Gulch (1988) and Orientate (2002).

·        One-time Breeders’ Cup Mile winner: Steinlen-GB (1989).

·        One-time Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Sprint winner: Hightail (2012)

ACCOLADES

·        Enshrined in Horse Racing’s Hall of Fame in 1999.

·        Enshrined in American Quarter Horse Hall of Fame in 2017.

·        Fourteen-time national leader in money-won (1983-92, ’94-97).

·        Four-time Eclipse Award winner for Outstanding Trainer: 1985-87, ’94.

·        Eleven-time Churchill Downs champion trainer (Fall 1988, Spring 1989, Fall 1989, Spring 1990, Fall 1990, Fall 1991, Spring 1993, Spring 1995, Spring 1996, Fall 1996 and Spring 2000).

·        Presented with The John W. Galbreath Award for Outstanding Entrepreneurship in the Equine Industry in 1998 by the University of Louisville’s Equine Industry Program for applying success-management methods and practices to raise the standard of race training.

·        Honored by the Thoroughbred Club of America at its 67th annual testimonial dinner in 1998.

·        Honored with the Turf Publicists of America’s Big Sport of Turfdom Award in 1999.

·        Received the United Thoroughbred Trainers of America’s Trainer of the Year Award in 1999.

·        Keynote speaker at the 2004 Racing Hall of Fame induction ceremony and ’06 American Association of Equine Practitioners convention.

·        Inducted into the American Quarter Horse Hall of Fame in 2007, making him the first person to enter both the Thoroughbred and Quarter Horse halls of fame.