Coaches are tough. They often see the big picture and can be demanding in what they expect from their pupils.
But they can also lead with subtlety, knowing exactly which buttons to push, or just as important, which ones to leave alone.
Trainer D. Wayne Lukas has earned his “Coach” nickname not just because of his experience as a high school basketball coach, but because he’s endeared himself to so many with how he empowers those he guides.
Knowing when to step on the gas or when to ease up was critical to Lukas winning his seventh Preakness Stakes (G1) May 18 with Seize the Grey at Pimlico Race Course.
“I don’t get into the mechanics of riding so much, but I get into I want them to dedicate themselves beyond—I want (jockey Jaime Torres) to be better than he thinks he can be. I always push that to him. I’m going to push you,” Lukas said. “I want you to do more than you actually think you can do and I want you to be better than you think you can be. I want you to really, really dedicate yourself.”
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Lukas said he didn’t want to “overcoach” Torres because he knew the young jockey would have done exactly what Lukas told him. Instead, Lukas the coach trusted Torres’ instincts on the colt he won the Pat Day Mile Stakes (G2) with.
Whether it’s a court or a track, the adage of practicing how you play rings true.
Lukas said he studies the horses in the morning, giving him a “feel for their motion and how they’re getting over the ground.”
“When you watch those races, it gets analytical for you,” he said. “You start thinking, ‘Is he handling it pretty well? Is he getting over the ground like he normally does, or is he struggling?'”
The answer Saturday at Pimlico was exactly what Lukas wanted to see from his jockey and horse.
The win Saturday evening pulled him even with Robert W. Walden for second-most Preakness victories. Bob Baffert is first with eight.
But Saturday was no time for reflecting on past conquests.
“The last one is always the sweetest. The last girl you dance with is the one you take home,” said Lukas using phrasing typical for coaches.
He also refused to diminish any of his previous Preakness wins, noting how each was for a different owner—this one for MyRacehorse.
And like any coach, there’s the optimism.
Even at 88, Lukas is thinking several moves in advance.
“We’ve got outstanding 2-year-olds. We are loaded next year, and I’m already looking forward to them,” he said.
“I can’t wait to get home and start breezing them. Watch out for Saratoga; we’re going to be awful tough.”
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