Tue Jun 24 22:20:00 UTC 2025: Okay, here’s a news article summarizing the provided text:
**Horse Racing Legend D. Wayne Lukas Hospitalized, Steps Away from Training**
**LOUISVILLE, Ky.** – Hall of Fame horse racing trainer D. Wayne Lukas, 89, has been hospitalized and will no longer be training, Churchill Downs announced Sunday. The news comes after Lukas’s family reported that he is battling a severe infection that has worsened and that he has opted for comfort care at home rather than pursuing aggressive treatment.
Lukas’s stable of horses has been transferred to his assistant trainer, Sebastian Bas Nicholl, who vowed to honor the legacy of the legendary “Coach.”
“Wayne built a legacy that will never be matched,” Nicholl stated. “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.”
D. Wayne Lukas is an icon in the sport, racking up 15 Triple Crown victories, second only to Bob Baffert, and a record-tying 20 Breeders’ Cup wins. He has won the Kentucky Derby four times, his most recent Triple Crown win coming last year in the Preakness with Seize the Grey.
“Wayne is one of the greatest competitors and most important figures in Thoroughbred racing history,” said Churchill Downs President Mike Anderson. “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.”
Known as “Coach” for his background in high school basketball, Lukas’s career started with Quarter Horses before moving to Thoroughbreds in the late 1970s. He earned his first Preakness victory with Codex in 1980. Throughout his impressive career, Lukas amassed 4,967 documented victories, with his horses earning over $310 million from over 30,600 starts.
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