Horse Racing

D. Wayne and Laurie Lukas Join ‘Let’s Talk’


TDN’s ‘Let’s Talk’ – a podcast series featuring TDN’s Christina Bossinakis and TVG online analyst Gabby Gaudet, offers candid discussions of personal and professional issues commonly encountered in the racing community car.

The latest edition features Hall of Fame rider D. Wayne Lukas, who claimed his latest Class I win with the Vow of Secrets in Kentucky Oaks May 6.

Wayne Lukas is no stranger to success. Inducted into the racing Hall of Fame in 1999, the Antigo, Wisconsin native has spent more than four decades reshaping and even defining the sport of equestrianism. And while the wins may not be as plentiful as they once were, the 86-year-old continues to find himself at the center of the big days, as was the case with Secret Oath when it finished fourth in the run. GI Preakness S. While many other October students are content to enjoy the fruits of their labor in retirement, Lukas continues to forge ahead with the same passion and intensity with which he demonstrated during the peak of his coaching career.

“I still wake up at 3:30 every morning and now at my age, that alarm doesn’t go off. I usually hit it,” he said. “But if it happens, at 3:30 a.m. at my age, you can [want to] turned around and said, “Woah boy.” But I refuse to let myself do it. I refused to let the old man in.”

Praised for his string of assistants who have become top-level coaches in their own right, Lukas has remained very outspoken about the influence he has precisely attempted on his team throughout the years. . The one-time basketball coach emphasized that it’s not just star graduates like Todd Pletcher, Kiaran McLaughlin, Dallas Stewart, and the associates he’s tried to mentor, but also people who might not have made it. to the pinnacle of some of their contemporaries. Often referred to as ‘The Coach’, Lukas certainly had that moniker.

“It bothers me when I can develop six or seven kids and give them a certain amount of experience and have seven or eight or 10 on the team that I can’t really influence in the field,” he explains. there. “They are not good enough but they are good and hardworking kids. Children with dreams are like children who are playing. And it always bothers me a little bit. I tried to influence all my players.”

And that philosophy translates to racing.

“So when I get into horse racing, I get very upset if we have two or three horses that don’t come out, especially if I buy them. And I want to make everyone of them profitable. “

Also in the discussion, Lukas mentioned some of the pressures of training, which often increase with age and that many players now tend to switch to a younger coach with a higher win rate. .

He said, “When you get to my age, most people wonder, is he going out? Is he still doing it? They are usually geared towards a younger person.”

Later in the show, Lukas was joined by his wife, Laurie. Speaking of her first impressions of Lukas, the lifelong horseman was quick to point out that the man was, in many ways, completely different from his overt personality.

“The first time I met him, it was just a chance encounter and I didn’t have a big impression… I think he’s really who he is,” she admits. “I have known him for years and years like everyone else. I just think he has a bit of an ego.”

She continued, “But the first time we talked on the phone, it was a completely different deal. He has a lot of depth. The conversations are engaging. He is very attractive and very intelligent. And that was my surprise. I didn’t expect that.”

And what makes a relationship work?

“I have a lot of respect for her as a rider,” Lukas said. “I don’t have to go home in the evening and hold a clinic or a seminar about what we’re trying to do or the places we’re trying to get nowhere.”

Laurie added, “We both understand. I understand that passion and drive. And I’m not going to complain about why we can’t go to dinner tonight or why we can’t do this or that because I get it. That really helps.”

The program is sponsored by 1 / Racing ST and Medicine.

To watch the full ‘Let’s Talk’ podcast, click here. And for the audio-only version, click here.





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