Oaklawn Park: A winter home for D. Wayne Lukas

Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas, one of the most influential figures in thoroughbred racing history, passed away following a career that spanned five decades. For more than 15 years, the 89-year-old horseman made Oaklawn Park his winter home.

Lukas made an immediate impression at Oaklawn Park. 

His first starter, Miss Huntington, captured the Apple Blossom H. (G1) in 1983. In 1984, he returned to make history when Althea became the first—and only—filly to win the Arkansas Derby, setting the still-standing stakes-record time of 1:46.80. Lukas won the race again the following year with Tank’s Prospect. 

He was the first trainer to operate a nationwide stable, with divisions competing simultaneously at major circuits across the country.

“To be honest with you, when we came here, we fell in love with it,” Lukas said in a 2023 Oaklawn release. “Randy Bradshaw was my assistant at that time. When I moved him away from here and put him with another division, he ended up buying a house here. He bought a house on the lake. Everybody that we’ve ever sent in here in a management capacity has fallen in love with Oaklawn. I love it here. I just bought another house. You don’t buy houses when you’re 87 years old. You’re supposed to sell them.”

Nicknamed “The Coach” from his days as a high school basketball coach in Wisconsin, Lukas became equally renowned for developing future stars in the thoroughbred industry. Among his protégés are Todd Pletcher, Mike Maker, Dallas Stewart, and three-time Oaklawn champion Bobby Barnett (1994, 1995, and 1996).

“I like the overall atmosphere of the racing here,” Lukas said in 2015. “The fan base is very appreciative and very strong. I also like the program here. The racing department has set up a schedule that lets you develop a 3-year-old and get ready for a classic. Historically, the horses that have left here have done well in the classics.”

He spoke from experience. 

Lukas’s fourth and final Kentucky Derby winner, Grindstone, was runner-up by a neck in the 1996 Arkansas Derby. Oaklawn served as the launchpad for three of his seven Preakness winners: Tank’s Prospect (1985), Oxbow (2013), and Seize the Grey (2024). He led the Oaklawn trainer standings in both 1987 and 2011.

“My energy is better here than any place where I go,” he told Bloodhorse in January 2021. “I think it's the air. I think it's the oxygen. What do they say? The trees filter the air. But I have more energy and go on less sleep here than any place I go. I've got a beautiful home in the woods in Kentucky, but I feel better here than any place. You see why people come here and retire."

A four-time Eclipse Award winner as outstanding trainer, Lukas developed 26 champions, including three named Horse of the Year. Many of them made appearances in Hot Springs: Althea (1983 Two-Year-Old Filly), North Sider (1987 Older Female), Azeri (2004 Older Female), Will Take Charge (2013 Three-Year-Old Male), and Take Charge Brandi (2014 Two-Year-Old Filly).

Lukas remained a force through the final chapter of his career, and Oaklawn was part of that success story. In 2022, he scored his fifth Kentucky Oaks triumph with Secret Oath, who had previously won the Honeybee S. (G3) and finished third in the Arkansas Derby. Two years later, Lukas became the oldest trainer to win a Triple Crown race when Seize the Grey, an Oaklawn allowance winner, took the Preakness.

“I've said that [Oaklawn is a great place to be] for 20 years. I've even told my colleagues. They are finally waking up to the fact that this is a hell of a place to be,” Lukas told America’s Best Racing in 2020. 

His love for the track can be seen in his family’s wishes. In lieu of flowers, they requested that donations be made to the Oaklawn or Churchill Backside Chaplaincy, or the Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance —causes that Lukas held close to his heart.

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