D. Wayne Lukas

Baltimore, MD--The leadup to this year's GI Preakness S. has proven anything but routine with news of the Bob Baffert-trained Medina Spirit (Protonico) testing positive for Betamethasone following his GI Kentucky Derby win two weeks ago. However, just two days before the second jewel in the Triple Crown, the vibe around the Stakes Barns on Pimlico's back side had a decidedly more business-as-usual feel rather than a Classic-week electric charge. El Camino Real Derby winner Rombauer (Twirling Candy), third in the GII Toyota Blue Grass S., and Keepmeinmind (Laoban), last...

Next weekend's GI Preakness S. continues to take shape as GSW Risk Taking (Medaglia d'Oro) and Unbridled Honor (Honor Code) are expected to be added to the fray during Monday's draw at Pimlico. Winner of the GIII Withers S. in February, Risk Taking had been initially tabbed to contest the nine-furlong GIII Peter Pan S. at Belmont Saturday, but has been rerouted to join his Klaravich Stables stablemate, Crowded Trade (More Than Ready), in the second jewel in the Triple Crown. Chad Brown trains the colt for Baltimore native Seth...

This Saturday, Calumet Farm looks to pull off a bit of an upset in the GII Risen Star with their homebred Santa Cruiser (Dialed In), who broke his maiden last November and ran fourth in his most recent start in the GIII Lecomte S.    Santa Cruiser may go off as one of the longer shots on the board, but if he were to win, it wouldn't be the farm's first upset in the same race. Three years ago, Calumet's homebred Bravazo (Awesome Again-Tiz O'Gold, by Cee's Tizzy) won the...

Calumet Farm's Bravazo (Awesome Again--Tiz o' Gold, by Cee's Tizzy) will be the newest addition to the nursery's stallion roster in the 2021 season. The 5-year-old will stand for $6,000, with discounts given for multiple mare packages and quality mares. Trained by Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas, the dark bay earned $2,033,195 in career earnings through four seasons on the racetrack. At two, he was second in the GI Claiborne Futurity S. and annexed the GII Risen Star S. early in his sophomore season. A close-up second behind...

The past two weeks has proven a veritable roller coaster ride for Hall of Famer D. Wayne Lukas. After opting to keep his operation in Kentucky for the summer rather than shift to upstate New York as he has done for over the past four decades, Lukas admitted that earlier this month, he began to feel less than 'perfect,' although he didn't present any of the classic symptoms that went with COVID-19. At least not initially. "I was being checked at the gate every day and I didn't have a...

Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas, who reportedly had tested positive for coronavirus last week and was in isolation, has recovered from the illness and received a negative COVID-19 test result, according to a tweet from his grandson Brady Wayne Lukas Sunday morning. "Wayne has completed the isolation period and has received a negative test result," Lukas said. "He's back!" The 84-year-old conditioner was first reported to be positive for COVID-19 Aug. 12. In a tweet, Brady Lukas said, "Wayne recently tested positive for COVID-19 and has since been...

Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas has tested positive for COVID-19. "Wayne recently tested positive for COVID-19 and has since been isolating at home and following CDC and health care provider guidelines," a statement from his team read. "Fortunately, he had not been at work for several days prior to the symptoms, so no one else at the barn is impacted. Wayne is recovering at home and looks forward to getting back to the track. He is available to answer any questions regarding your horses. All the day-to-day operations...

Sponsored by Alex Nichols Agency CLEMENT UNVEILS PHAROAH FILLY 4th-GP, $45K, Msw, 3yo, f, 1mT, 2:15p.m. West Point Thoroughbreds' UNDER THE OAKS (American Pharoah) makes her career bow Saturday for Christophe Clement. She is the first foal out of stakes winner and GISP Maybellene (Lookin at Lucky) and hails from the family of MGSW sire Elusive Quality (Gone West). The bay worked a bullet on the turf at Payson May 4, going five panels in 1:01 2/5 (1/4), and most recently breezed a bullet four panels in :49 3/5 on...

Grade I winner Come Dancing (Malibu Moon), who has been staying in the D. Wayne Lukas barn after being shipped from Carlos Martin's outfit in New York, will remain with Lukas as she targets the Apr. 18 GI Apple Blossom H. for her seasonal debut. "Carlos Martin sent her in in beautiful shape, so my job is to keep her happy and move her forward," Lukas told the Oaklawn notes team. Lukas said fellow trainer Dale Romans suggested Martin, grandson of the late Hall of Fame trainer, Frank "Pancho" Martin,...

Kiaran McLaughlin, who has been a fixture on the New York racing scene for over three decades, confirmed to the TDN Thursday he will not be returning to his usual New York training base at Belmont Park this spring. McLaughlin, who is one of several New York-based horsemen who have been investigated by both the New York Department of Labor and the U.S. Department of Labor, was fined $304,646 last November by the state Department of Labor for what was reported as a 'violation of minimum wage requirements'. An investigation...

Ahmed Zayat's legal problems continue to grow. Trainer Mike Maker filed a complaint in Jefferson County (Kentucky) Court Thursday seeking $120,921 over what he alleged are unpaid training bills. Maker's complaint was filed less than two weeks after a Kentucky court ordered Zayat's assets into receivership, the result of claims by an investment group that says Zayat owes it $23 million. Maker's complaint was first reported by BloodHorse. According to the complaint, Maker trained as many as eight horses for Zayat Stables, which was falling behind on paying its training...

The Jockeys & Jeans summer auction to benefit the Permanently Disabled Jockeys Fund (PDJF) will begin Aug. 1 and end Sept. 15. Items up for sale include a Gulfstream VIP package and signed memorabilia from the likes of Hall of Fame trainers Bob Baffert and D. Wayne Lukas and jockeys Braulio Baeza and Jorge Velasquez. To bid, click here.