Why does Lukas not have an entry in this years Kentucky Derby?

Question

Why does Lukas not have an entry in this years Kentucky Derby?

Answer 1

His contenders did not earn enough in graded stakes to qualify.

Answer 2

Lukas has really scaled back his operation from the halcyon days when he had divisions of his stable at tracks from coast to coast and when he was a leading buyer of yearlings as agent for his owners.

A bunch of factors play into this:  First, he's 62 now and has nothing left to prove.  Second, his client list has diminished;  he doesn't have the big-ticket yearling buyers employing him now; third, he's had some personal issues that have probably weighed on him (son Jeff is still suffering after-affects from his 1993 accident with Tabasco Cat) and a failed marriage.

I don't doubt that Lukas could and would like to enhance his triple crown effort, but I just don't think he wants to play the game the way he used to.  If a sharp colt or filly came his way, he'd be on the Triple Crown trail again and be a force to be reckoned with, but he's ceded the all-out pursuit of the Triple Crown races to the younger trainers, his protege Todd Pletcher (5 starters in the Derby) among them.

Answer 3

Because the 3 year olds he had, he's already ran them into the ground. Look at the races for older horses, how many Lukas horses in those - very few.