Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas, a four-time winner of both the Kentucky
The $175,000 Lukas Classic, for three-year-olds and up at 1 1/8 miles, was
The 11-date September Meet operates on a four-day, Thursday-through-Sunday
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The former Homecoming Classic is being renamed to salute Lukas’
accomplishments, contributions and influence on Churchill Downs, the Kentucky
Derby and Oaks, and the horse industry. The native of Antigo, Wisconsin, will
celebrate his 80th birthday on September 2. The race that now carries his name
will be run for the third time on September 26. Reigning Breeders’ Cup Classic
winner Fort Larned won its first running in 2013 and subsequently finished
fourth at Santa Anita in his bid for a repeat Classic victory. The race was won
last year by Cigar Street, who would finish seventh in the Classic at Santa
Anita.
Lukas, who bases his stable at Churchill Downs Barn 44 through much of the
year, has won a record 14 victories in Triple Crown races, and trained a record
20 winners of Breeders’ Cup races. He earned four Eclipse Awards that honored
him as the nation’s top trainer. At Churchill Downs, Lukas ranks second in
career stakes victories (73) and fourth in total wins (510).
“Along with the enormity of the numbers of his total victories, the stakes
races he has won and earnings by his stable’s horses throughout his Hall of Fame
career, D. Wayne Lukas forever changed both the Kentucky Derby and North
America’s horse industry,” said Kevin Flanery, president of Churchill Downs. “It
is Churchill Downs’ honor to salute Wayne Lukas by placing his name on this
race. We are enthusiastic about the potential of the Lukas Classic and believe
it will very soon be an important annual stop for older horses who are working
to prepare for and earn starting spots in the Breeders’ Cup Classic.
“We think the presence of Wayne Lukas’ name on this race will enhance its
attractiveness and its status. And we would love to see Mr. Lukas do one of the
few things he has yet to do during his legendary career. Our team at Churchill
Downs is confident that Wayne is a long way from entertaining any thoughts of
retirement, and we hope that he will soon saddle a winner of this race, which
would allow him — for the first time — to present a winner’s trophy to
himself.”
The first races on the Road to the Kentucky Derby and Road to the Kentucky
Oaks headline four stakes events on September 12, the first of three Saturdays
of racing during the September Meet. Along with the Pocahontas and Iroquois,
that program will feature the $100,000 Locust Grove, for fillies and mares on
the main track, and the $100,000 Open Mind, which matches fillies and mares at
six furlongs.
Along with the opportunity to collect the first points in the systems that
will determine the starters in the 2016 Kentucky Derby and the Kentucky Oaks,
the Iroquois and Pocahontas provide their winners with a guaranteed starting
spot in Breeders’ Cup races in their divisions.
The racing program on September 19 features the $100,000 Dogwood (G3) for
three-year-old fillies at seven furlongs.
The final Saturday of September Meet racing on September 26 will offer three
stakes events in the Lukas Classic, the $100,000 Ack Ack H. (G3) for
three-year-olds and up at one mile, and the $100,000 Jefferson Cup (G3) for
three-year-olds at one mile on the turf — the only stakes race on grass during
the meet.
Only two of the eight stakes races in September have changed from last year’s
schedule. Along with the new name for the Lukas Classic, the purse for the race
was boosted by $50,000 to $175,000. The purse for the Iroquois also was
increased by $50,000.
After the September racing session, Churchill Downs will have one remaining
race meet in 2015. The track’s traditional Fall Meet is scheduled for November
1-29, which will offer 21 racing dates on a weekly Thursday-through-Sunday
schedule.
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