Trainer D. Wayne Lukas, winner of 15 Triple Crown races, dies at 89 - ESPN

D. Wayne Lukas, the Hall of Famer who became one of the most accomplished trainers in the history of horse racing and a face of the sport for decades, has died. He was 89.

His family said Sunday that Lukas died Saturday night at his home in Louisville, Kentucky.

Lukas had been hospitalized with a severe MRSA blood infection that caused significant damage to his heart and digestive system and worsened preexisting chronic conditions.

«Wayne devoted his life not only to horses but to the industry — developing generations of horsemen and horsewomen and growing the game by inviting unsuspecting fans into the winner's circle,» his family said in a statement. «Whether he was boasting about a maiden 2-year-old as the next Kentucky Derby winner or offering quiet words of advice before a big race, Wayne brought heart, grace, and grit to every corner of the sport. His final days were spent at home in Kentucky, where he chose peace, family, and faith.»

Lukas won 15 Triple Crown races, including the Kentucky Derby four times. Only good friend Bob Baffert has more Triple Crown victories, and Lukas owns a record-tying 20 in the Breeders' Cup World Championships.

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«The horses were everything to Wayne. They were his life,» Baffert said in a post on X. «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