Scott Davenport praises storied career of friend D. Wayne Lukas as trainer retires

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — Hall of Fame horse trainer D. Wayne Lukas, one of the most iconic figures in thoroughbred racing history, is stepping away from the sport at the age of 89.

Lukas, whose resume includes more than two dozen Triple Crown race victories and four Kentucky Derby wins, made the decision following a recent hospitalization.

He's been battling a severe infection that has worsened several chronic conditions, according to a family statement, prompting him to retire and spend more time at home.

A staple in the horse racing industry for more than four decades, Lukas' career is a storied one. At the Kentucky Derby Museum, a large exhibit and wall of photos honor his achievements.

His impact can be seen not just around Churchill Downs or in the world of horse racing, but in those who look up to him, work with him or call him a friend.

"He was the greatest innovator in the history of horse racing," said Scott Davenport, former head basketball coach at Bellarmine University and a close friend of Lukas.

Scott Davenport and D. Wayne Lukas old photo — Scott Davenport said he idolized Hall of Fame horse trainer D. Wayne Lukas long before they met and became friends. Davenport, the former head basketball coach at Bellarmine University, grew up near Churchill Downs in Louisville. He told WDRB during an interview Monday, June 23, 2025, that he would go to the barn and listen to Lukas, something he could do "for hours."

Davenport, who grew up near Churchill Downs, said he idolized Lukas long before they met. As a child, he would stand outside Lukas’ barn just to listen.

"All I would do is go to the barn and listen to Wayne Lukas for hours. He would just come out and start talking," Davenport said.

Their friendship began years later, after Davenport wrote a three-page letter to Lukas. The trainer called him days later, inviting him to meet at his barn during a trip to Louisville.

“I am leaving Ballard one day and I lock my office door and the phone rings. Unlock, unlock, I run back in, pick it up—'Basketball office?' ‘Scott? Wayne Lukas. I want to meet you. I will be in Louisville in two days. I'll be at the barn, come by, I want to meet you,'” Davenport recalled.

The two bonded over their shared love of sports—Lukas was once a high school basketball coach in Wisconsin before turning to horse training full-time.

“All he’d want to talk about was basketball, and all I’d want to talk about was horses,” Davenport said.

Davenport said Lukas was always meticulous when it came to his horses and detail, and that often paid off.

"I used to ask him, 'Wayne, why do you make sure that dirt is raked a certain way, and the white bridle the horses, they are literally washing them with a toothbrush,'" he said. "He said 'Because, if I demand perfection on every little thing, it will transcend into how the horses are cared for and the horse will run better.'"

Known for always being at the track before the sun came up — even riding his horse before the Derby this May — WDRB has interviewed Lukas multiple times over his storied career. Always gracious in victory, he often credited those around him.

“When you first start, you think it’s you,” Lukas once said. “But it’s not you—it’s the clients, the help. It’s everybody else. I like the fact that everybody else can celebrate.”

Lukas was the first recipient of the Kentucky Derby Museum’s first Lifetime Achievement Award, which was presented to him last year.

“Show me somebody that loves what they are doing, and I’ll show you somebody really, really good,” Davenport said. “Wayne Lukas is the greatest example.”

Lukas announced his retirement Sunday in a family statement, citing serious health issues.

His training stable will continue operations under longtime assistant Bas Nicholl, who has worked with Lukas since 2002. The stable will continue to operate under the Lukas name during the transition, with the family offering full support and endorsement of Nicholl’s leadership.

Over a career that reshaped the landscape of horse racing, Lukas trained four Kentucky Derby winners, seven Preakness Stakes winners, and four Belmont Stakes champions — becoming the first trainer in history to sweep the three Triple Crown races in a single season with different horses. He won 15 Triple Crown races and has trained a record 20 Breeders’ Cup winners.

He was inducted into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame in 1999 and remains the only person to be enshrined in both the Thoroughbred and American Quarter Horse halls of fame.

Even into his late 80s, Lukas remained a daily fixture at Churchill Downs, rising at 3:30 a.m. and riding his stable pony to the track in the predawn hours. As recently as the 2025 Kentucky Derby, he had a horse in the field — Just Steel, a colt by Justify — and was honored that same spring with the inaugural Lifetime Achievement Award from the Kentucky Derby Museum.

In 2022, at age 86, he won the Kentucky Oaks with Secret Oath -- 40 years after winning the race for the first time, and 32 years since his most recent Oaks win.

His retirement marks the end of an era in American horse racing. Lukas pioneered the idea of national training operations, flying horses across the country to compete in major stakes races. His disciplined, businesslike approach to training reshaped the way elite stables operated and launched the careers of dozens of top assistants, including Todd Pletcher, Dallas Stewart, Kiaran McLaughlin and Mike Maker.