I have never liked Wayne Lukas because he seems to have no real concern for the horses he trains or the jockeys he uses.
When the jockeys were complaining because of the very low weight they are expected to maintain (112 libs) and wanted the minimum raised by 2-3 lbs, Lukas wasn't the least bit sympathetic, and said all the physical problems the jockeys endure due to purging, steambaths and starvation were just part of the game and they had no right to complain.
When Charismatic broke down during the Belmont (he was trying to win the Triple Crown), Lukas didn't seem to care at all about the horse. He never went back to the barn afterwards to see how the horse was. He seemed to be highly annoyed that he had not become a Triple Crown winning Trainer, and that's all.
I guess so many of his horses have broken down and had to be destroyed that it meant nothing whatsoever to him personally.
One positive thing from my point of view is that many of the owners who used to routinely send their 2-year-olds to Lukas to train have stopped doing so. Apparently too many of them either never made it to the racetrack or broke down early on. That's why Lukas hasn't had many quality Kentucky Derby entries in the past few years.
When the jockeys were complaining because of the very low weight they are expected to maintain (112 libs) and wanted the minimum raised by 2-3 lbs, Lukas wasn't the least bit sympathetic, and said all the physical problems the jockeys endure due to purging, steambaths and starvation were just part of the game and they had no right to complain.
When Charismatic broke down during the Belmont (he was trying to win the Triple Crown), Lukas didn't seem to care at all about the horse. He never went back to the barn afterwards to see how the horse was. He seemed to be highly annoyed that he had not become a Triple Crown winning Trainer, and that's all.
I guess so many of his horses have broken down and had to be destroyed that it meant nothing whatsoever to him personally.
One positive thing from my point of view is that many of the owners who used to routinely send their 2-year-olds to Lukas to train have stopped doing so. Apparently too many of them either never made it to the racetrack or broke down early on. That's why Lukas hasn't had many quality Kentucky Derby entries in the past few years.