The Coach Strikes Again in the Preakness Stakes

D. Wayne "The Coach" Lukas is a world-renowned horse racing trainer and an inductee into the U.S. Racing Hall of Fame. He is also acknowledged as one of the very few trainers to also be inducted into the American Quarter Horse Hall of Fame, which took place in 2007.

Mr. Lucas is affectionately referred to as the Coach because of all the assistant trainers he has cultivated into top trainers in their own rights. That includes the legendary Bob Baffert, who is one of the few who can boast a training record that rivals that of their mentor.

In a splendid turn of events, The Coach is back in the U.S. racing news because of his recent victory in the 2024 Preakness Stakes at Pimlico Racecourse in Marland. His 3-year-old gray colt Seize the Grey stormed down the stretch to beat Kentucky Derby winner Mystic Dan by 2 1/4 with Catching Freedom finishing 3rd. Seize the Grey was piloted home by Jaime Torress, a 25-year-old jockey whose star is on the rise. From a betting perspective, the Preakness winner rewarded backers with $21.60 on a $2 win wager.

The win ran Seize the Grey's race record to 10: 4 – 0 – 3 for $1,819,938 in earnings. The gray colt out of the brilliant sire Arrogate (now deceased) was purchased for $300,000 by the MyRacehorse microsyndicate The Saratoga Sale, Fasig Tipton's select yearling sale in 2022.

About MyRaceHorse

It's interesting to note that MyRaceHorse offers a unique concept for racehorse owners. The syndicate purchases a horse and syndicates it out in thousands of shares. It opens the door for horse racing enthusiasts to enjoy partial ownership of a thoroughbred with a minimal investment. Seize the Grey was syndicated for $127 a share with 5,000 shares sold to 2,570 different owners.

Syndicator Michael Behrens collected a total of $635,000 with the profit portion going to cover training expenses and his syndicates commissions.

The Coach Strikes Again in the Preakness Stakes

In winning the 2024 Preakness, Lucas now has 7 Preakness trophies on his mantle. That puts him in second for most Preakness victories behind his former student Baffert, who has claimed 8 trophies of his own. Lucas has also distinguished himself at Churchill Downs and Belmont Race Course where he has claimed 4 Kentucky Derbies and 4 Belmont Stakes, respectively, for a total of 15 Triple Crown Races.

Some of the legendary horses that have run out of the Coach's shedrow include Winning Colors, Lady's Secret, Gulch, Thunder Gulch, and Charismatic. It's noteworthy just missed winning the Triple Crown when he crossed the wire in 3rd in the Belmont Stakes (1999). The colt had been injured coming down the stretch and was to never race again.

As for The Coach, he is still going strong at the ripe old age of 88. As he closes in on 5,000 career victories, he is currently preparing his next batch of 2-year-olds in hopes of adding to his brilliant Triple Crown record in 2025.