Bob Baffert has paid a heartfelt tribute to D. Wayne Lukas, the legendary American trainer who died at the age of 89 on Saturday.
Baffert credits Lukas with being a true inspirational figure as he was starting out in his own career both in Quarter Horse racing and later when he moved into training thoroughbreds.
In a post on X, Baffert said: “I first saw D. Wayne Lukas as a teenager at a small County Fair racetrack close to my hometown in Nogales, Arizona. He rolled into town with his gleaming chrome trailer, big, beautifully turned out horses, and the most expensive-looking Stetson hat that I had ever seen.
“He won race after race and made such a huge impression on me that I fell in love with Quarter horse racing right there.
“Years later, when I transitioned into thoroughbreds, Wayne was the competition, and all I wanted was to beat him in the big races. It didn’t take me long to realise how difficult that would be.
“Wayne was a game changer, transforming horse racing for the better. He made it so the horse’s bloodlines were more important than the owner’s. He created a system of flying his horses coast to coast, establishing a presence at every major racetrack in America. And Wayne didn’t just show up. He dominated. He won so much he became known as ‘D. Wayne off the plane’. He developed the blueprint the rest of us still follow. He was a true visionary.
“The horses were everything to Wayne. They were his life. From the way he worked them, how he cared for them, and how he maintained his shed row as meticulously as he did his horses. No detail was too small. Many of us got our graduate degrees in training by studying how Wayne did it.
“Behind his famous shades, he was a tremendous horseman, probably the greatest who ever lived.
“As I grew older and wiser, Wayne remained the competition, but he also became a mentor and one of my best friends. When he beat me, I knew I was beaten by the best. When I beat him, I knew I had done something right.
“Wayne had a special aura about him. He had a knack for making others feel seen and valued. He was uniquely charming and an eternal optimist. In one of my last conversations with him, we talked about the importance of looking at the glass half full and continuing to compete in what he called the big arena.
“To his final days, he was a relentless competitor. He set out with ambitious goals and achieved them all. One of the things that made Wayne so special was the steadfast love and support of his wife, Laurie, an excellent horsewoman in her own right, and his grandchildren.
“Wayne impacted the lives of so many people in racing and raised the bar for all of us. He was the epitome of excellence, and I’ll miss him every day for the rest of my life.
“I hope somewhere along the way, I made him proud.”
Jerry Bailey enjoyed many big-race victories for Lukas and posted on X: “With our deepest sympathies, Suzee and I extend our heartfelt thoughts and prayers to the entire Lukas family on the passing of Thoroughbred Racing legend D. Wayne Lukas. Wayne played an instrumental role in many of the highlights of my riding career. He will truly be missed.”
