Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas, who has 30 stalls at Fair Grounds this
winter, is planning to campaign his promising youngsters at the historic New
Orleans oval. Lukas noted that his stable’s presence will increase gradually
throughout the meet.
Lukas won the Louisiana Derby (G3) and Kentucky Derby (G1) in 1996 with
Grindstone, who became the only horse since Black Gold in 1924 to accomplish
that feat. If there’s another Grindstone in the barn this winter, Fair Grounds
fans can look forward to the possibility of seeing that horse develop over
multiple races in New Orleans.
“We’ve got some ‘twos-turning-threes’ this winter that I think are going to
be some pretty nice horses, and that’s a nice program down there that will let
us expose them to some better races,” Lukas said. “We’ve grown a bit in the last
couple years, and Fair Grounds is a real good option for us because we’re
top-heavy in the two-year-olds. The program in New Orleans is solid and lets us
develop some three-year-olds.”
This year, Fair Grounds is going all out to entice the best field possible
for its signature race, the $750,000 Louisiana Derby (G2), now positioned five
weeks before the Kentucky Derby and lengthened to 1 1/8 miles. For the first
time, the $25,000 starter fee for the Kentucky Derby will be waived for any
horse that starts in the February 20 Risen Star S. (G3) and the March 27
Louisiana Derby and finishes among the top three in either.
“The three-year-old program there fits very well from the standpoint of the
progression, as far as the date and everything goes,” Lukas said of the track’s
Road to the Derby series, which opens with the January 23 Lecomte S. at one mile
and 40 yards. “The progression of going into the Risen Star and then onto the
(Louisiana) Derby and so forth is a nice progression for us.”
The length of the Fair Grounds season, from November to March, was also
attractive to Lukas, who has a number of his promising juveniles close to ready
for their debuts.
“The big thing is to be able to run,” he said. “I like the fact that there’s
nothing else going on in December, so we get to race in December and January.
Then as it gets toward spring, we’ll have a lot of these pretty ready to run and
do something serious.”
Rather than commit to one jockey as a first-call rider, Lukas prefers to see
who’s hot and keep his options open.
“As I’ve always told the riders, I just want to date them, I don’t want to
marry them,” he said. “We’ll try to ride those that are doing well. Jamie
Theriot has ridden a lot of horses for us in the last year, and John Jacinto
always did very well with us in Hot Springs when we were there. If your horses
are running well, the better riders will migrate to them.”
Lukas’s string in New Orleans will be overseen by assistant Sebastian Nicholl.
Lukas will also have a string at Oaklawn Park, in Hot Springs, Arkansas, which
opens its season in January.
“I’m going to get moved into Hot Springs and then right after the holidays
you’ll start seeing me (at Fair Grounds) more and more,” Lukas said.