BALTIMORE — D. Wayne Lukas, at 76 the reigning patriarch of the horse training business, will seek his sixth Preakness win when he saddles Optimizer in the great old classic on Saturday.
The horse appears to have no shot. But that’s what we all said when he saddled a stiff named Commendable in the 2000 Belmont, only to see the colt lead all the way and win at nearly 19-1. We really got a laugh when he saddled a former claimer named Charismatic in the 1999 Kentucky Derby, only to see him win at 31-1, then blow the Preakness wide open at 8-1, and lose the Belmont (and the whole Triple Crown) by less than two lengths after running the last 100 yards on three legs.
Now he’s back shooting for the moon with Optimizer, who finished 11th, beaten by 12 lengths in the Kentucky Derby, and before that, beaten by 20 lengths in the Arkansas Derby. Saturday, he figures to be 30-1 or more. Why bother scouting him?
Well, in his third start back, in the Rebel Stakes at Oaklawn Park, Optimizer, kissed off by the bettors at 27-1, came flying through the stretch to get second, beaten less than a length, to one of the best horses in the country, Secret Circle. If he repeats that run Saturday, he has a chance.
Lukas is not the powerhouse he used to be, but he still has forgotten more than most trainers ever know. At the Preakness Stakes barn yesterday, he explained why he brought Optimizer all the way from Louisville to Pimlico on a seemingly forlorn mission.
“I saw the spark there in the Rebel,” he said. “When you’re a trainer and you see that little spark of brilliance, you’ve got a chance. And I’m trying to get that Rebel spark back. He’s got to do more than he has done so far to be a factor in the Preakness. But he has a great pedigree and he’s very sound.”
Lukas has also switched jockeys. He has replaced Jon Court with Corey Nakatani.
“Jon has done a beautiful job, working with the horse, but in this arena, where we are looking ahead to the Belmont, we have to remember that the Belmont is lost more by riders than horses. Go back and you’ll see more riders have screwed that race up than any other. Some of those horses would have been Triple Crown winners if they had had better or smarter riders.
“My experience — in racing, basketball, football, baseball — is that if it’s not working, you’ve got to make a change. You can’t sit with the status quo or you’ll get beat. Jon understands. We’re trying to win a very important race.”
Lukas has a definite view on the outcome of the Derby.
“The two horses (I’ll Have Another and Bodemeister) with the best trips ran one-two,” he said. “What’s compromising the Triple Crown and making it harder to win now than in the ’60s and ’70s is the Derby’s 20-horse fields. If your horse can get in the upper half of the field and get a good trip, you’ve got a chance to win with a lesser horse. I’d say only 20 percent of the time does the best horse win the Derby.
“Bodemeister ran the best race this year. He set fractions that were unrealistic but still hung around to look as though he might win the damn thing. His problem is he has put two brilliant races back to back and if anyone but [trainer] Bob Baffert had him I’d question whether he could do it three times in a row.
“But I’ll Have Another has put three good races back to back. Is he a great horse? Can he put another good one up? Or is he just getting in the right spots at the right times? That’s what we’ll find out Saturday.”
Despite the odds against his winning the Preakness with Optimizer, no one may be in a better spot at the right time right now than D. Wayne himself. He’s sitting on a blockbuster assignment.
Optimizer runs under the ownership of Bluegrass Hall, which is owned by Brad Kelley, the 54-year-old billionaire, who recently made big news when he forked out $36 million to buy the most famous thoroughbred operation in American history — Calumet Farm.
Kelley’s orders to Lukas: Restore Calumet to its old glory! No matter what it takes or how much it costs.
With an open check book to bankroll him, Lukas may be about to regain his own glory, recreating the days when he dominated American racing like a colossus, winning 13 Triple Crown classics, six of them in a row, four Derbies, five Preaknesses, four Eclipse Awards, entry into the Hall of Fame.
Back in 2002, Lukas saddled Proud Citizen to run second in the Derby at 23-1, proving again he can be at his most dangerous when he appears not to have a serious contender.
At that time, he chuckled, “We’ve made a living entering horses where other people think they don’t belong.”
But I suspect that even Lukas would be surprised if Optimizer jumped up and won this Preakness. But with the master, you never know.