Hall of Famer D. Wayne Lukas has been hospitalized and will not return to training, family says
Associated Press
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Hall of Fame horse racing trainer D. Wayne Lukas has been hospitalized and will not return to training, Churchill Downs announced Sunday after speaking with members of his family.
Lukas' family said the 89-year-old has battled a severe infection that has worsened and that he has declined an aggressive treatment plan to instead return home. His horses have been transferred to assistant trainer Sebastian 'Bas" Nicholl.
'Wayne built a legacy that will never be matched,' Nicholl said. 'Every decision I make, every horse I saddle, I'll hear his voice in the back of my mind. This isn't about filling his shoes — no one can. It's about honoring everything that he's built.'
Lukas is one of the most accomplished people in the history of the sport. His 15 Triple Crown victories are second only to good friend Bob Baffert, and Lukas has a record-tying 20 in the Breeders Cup.
He won the Kentucky Derby four times since 1988. His most recent victory in the Triple Crown came last year with Seize the Grey in the Preakness, his seventh — one short of Baffert's record.
'Wayne is one of the greatest competitors and most important figures in Thoroughbred racing history,' Churchill Downs president Mike Anderson said. 'He transcended the sport of horse racing and took the industry to new levels. The lasting impact of his character and wisdom, from his acute horsemanship to his unmatched attention to detail, will be truly missed. The enormity of this news is immense, and our prayers are with his family and friends around the world during this difficult time.'
___
AP horse racing: https://apnews.com/hub/horse-racing in this topic
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Associated Press
16 minutes ago
- Associated Press
Tommy Fleetwood closer than ever at Travelers but still looking for first PGA Tour victory
CROMWELL, Conn. (AP) — Tommy Fleetwood has never come closer to his first PGA Tour victory. The 34-year-old Englishman led by three strokes with four holes to go in the Travelers Championship on Sunday and still had a one-stroke lead on No. 18 before two-putting from inside seven feet and watching Keegan Bradley steal the win. 'I'm upset now; I'm angry,' Fleetwood said calmly. 'I would love to, you know, just go and sulk somewhere — and maybe I will — but there's just no point making it a negative for the future, really. Just take the positives and move on.' Fleetwood has seven European Tour victories and been on two winning Ryder Cup teams, scoring the clinching point at Marco Simone two years ago. He has top five finishes in in all four majors, including runner-ups in the 2018 U.S. Open and the 2019 British. But he's 0 for 84 in regular PGA Tour events, earning the unwelcome distinction of being the best player on tour without a victory. He is the only player with to earn more than $30 million on tour without a win. 'Search goes on, I guess,' he said. 'When it happens, it will be very, very sweet.' Fleetwood's previous close calls also include the 2023 Canadian Open, when he lost to Canadian Nick Taylor, and the 2019 British, when he lost to Irishman Shane Lowry at Royal Portrush in Northern Ireland. On Sunday, he lost to the U.S. Ryder Cup captain – and native New Englander – in front of a crowd chanting 'U-S-A! U-S-A!' 'If there's one guy around here that you're going to go against, obviously, Keegan's going to get the majority of support,' Fleetwood said. Fleetwood had two eagles in the span of three holes on Friday to share the second-round lead with Scottie Scheffler and Justin Thomas. The Englishman was alone atop the leaderboard heading into the final round, three strokes ahead. He started Sunday with three bogeys on the first four holes but gained some distance with birdies on Nos. 11 and 13. He was two shots ahead when Bradley made bogey on the 14th to fall three back. (Fleetwood missed a 6-foot birdie putt on No. 14 that could have further distanced him from the field.) Fleetwood still led with one hole to go when he left his approach on No. 18 on the front fringe. He putted to seven feet, with a chance to guarantee no worse than a playoff. But the par putt took a little jump after it appeared to hit a ball mark and rolled 14 inches past the hole. Bradley, on the same line, sank a 6-footer for birdie to win it. 'Keegan made birdie, so fair play to him. But still feel like from where I was, I should at least be in a playoff,' Fleetwood said. 'So, yeah, it's a crappy way to finish.' Bradley could sympathize. 'I know how hard it must be for him. He's just an unbelievable player, and he's fighting so hard to get his first win,' the Vermont native said after claiming his eighth tour victory and his second at the only current tournament in New England. 'It's a weird thing to be on the other side of that. I do feel bad for him, but I've got to go out and do what I need to do,' Bradley said. 'But he battled today, and I really hope that he gets his win soon.' Fleetwood was asked about the drought for the umpteenth time on Saturday night, when he had what appeared to be a comfortable three-stroke lead. He said with a laugh: 'I'm on top of a lot of stat lines for people that haven't won on the PGA Tour, so to always be a No. 1 at something is always nice.' On Sunday, the smile was gone. 'In my mind, I've won loads of PGA Tour events. I just haven't done it in reality,' Fleetwood said. 'I'm sure that time will come if I keep working. 'I did plenty of things well enough this week to win. I didn't do that; it hurts. I obviously played great, I put myself in a great position, I was leading the tournament for 71 holes. I just want to make sure that I can put myself in this position as soon as possible again and try and correct what I did this time.' ___ AP golf:
Associated Press
30 minutes ago
- Associated Press
Chase Briscoe holds off Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Denny Hamlin to win at Pocono
LONG POND, Pa. (AP) — Chase Briscoe returned to victory lane Sunday at Pocono Raceway, conserving fuel down the stretch to hold off Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Denny Hamlin for his first win with his new race team. Briscoe raced his way into an automatic spot in NASCAR's playoffs with the win and gave the No. 19 Toyota its first victory since 2023 when Martin Truex Jr. had the ride. Briscoe lost his job at the end of last season at Stewart-Haas Racing when the team folded and he was tabbed to replace Truex in the four-car JGR field. Hamlin, who holds the track record with seven wins, appeared on the brink of reeling in Briscoe over the final, thrilling laps only to have not enough in the No. 11 Toytota to snag that eighth Pocono win. 'It was just so hard to have a guy chasing you, especially the guy that's the greatest of all time here,' Briscoe said. Briscoe, who won an Xfinity Series race at Pocono in 2020, raced to his third career Cup victory and first since Darlington in 2024. Briscoe has been on bit of a hot streak, and had his fourth top-10 finish over the last six races, including a seventh-place finish in last week's ballyhooed race in Mexico City. He became the 11th driver to earn a spot in the 16-driver field with nine races left until the field is set. Hamlin finished second. Ryan Blaney, Chris Buescher and Chase Elliott completed the top five. Briscoe, a third-generation dirt racer from Indiana, gave JGR its 18th Cup victory at Pocono. 'To get here and finally deliver a win is just an awesome feeling,' he said. 'To be able to get Coach in victory lane after taking a chance on me, it's just so rewarding.' The race was delayed 2 hours, 10 minutes by rain and the conditions were muggy by the time the green flag dropped. Briscoe led 72 laps and won the second stage. Briscoe wrote before the race on social media, 'Anybody going from Pocono to Oklahoma City after the race Sunday?' The Pacers fan wasn't going to make it to Game 7 of the NBA Finals. He'll certainly settle for a ride to victory lane. Ouch There was a minor scare on pit road when AJ Allmendinger struck a tire in the carrier's hand with his right front side and sent it flying into the ribs of another team's crew member in the pit ahead of him. Jonpatrik Kealey, the rear tire changer on Shane van Gisbergen's race team, was knocked on all fours but finished work on van Gisbergen's pit stop. Brake time Bubba Wallace, Michael McDowell and Riley Herbst all had their races spoiled by brake issues. 'It was a scary feeling for sure,' Herbst said. 'I was just starting to get tight, just a bad adjustment on my part. Getting into (turn) one, the brakes just went to the floor. A brake rotor exploded and I was along for the ride.' Up next NASCAR heads to Atlanta. Christopher Bell won the first race at the track this season in March. ___ AP auto racing:
San Francisco Chronicle
an hour ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Slade Cecconi pitches Guardians to 3-0 win over Athletics
WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Slade Cecconi pitched a career-high seven innings and Emmanuel Clase escaped a bases-loaded jam in the ninth to lead the Cleveland Guardians to a 3-0 victory over the Athletics in the rubber game of their series Sunday. Cecconi (3-3) allowed six hits and a walk in his seventh start for Cleveland after making 17 for Arizona over the previous two seasons. Clase gave up a walk and singles to Tyler Soderstrom and JJ Bleday to load the bases before finishing for his second straight save and 18th in 21 opportunities. The Guardians grabbed a 2-0 lead against A's starter JP Sears (5-7) in the second. Angel Martínez walked, stole second and scored on a single by Gabriel Arias. Nolan Jones doubled in Arias. Steven Kwan singled and scored on a two-out base hit by David Fry in the fifth for the final run. Sears allowed three runs and seven hits in five innings. He is 1-5 in his last eight starts. Jack Perkins made his big league debut in the seventh for the A's and pitched three scoreless innings. He allowed one hit and struck out two. Cleveland (39-37) finished 4-5 on its West Coast trip. Key stat Cecconi had a 5.28 ERA after three May starts. He has allowed just five runs in four June starts covering 22 innings for a 2.05 ERA. Up next The Athletics will start RHP Luis Severino (2-7, 4.42 ERA) on Tuesday in Detroit against LHP Tarik Skubal (8-2, 2.06), the reigning AL Cy Young Award winner. ___
