SARATOGA SPRINGS — D. Wayne Lukas is known in horse racing circles as “Coach,” but just after sunrise on a Wednesday morning ahead of the 156th running of the Belmont Stakes and first at Saratoga Race Course, the Hall of Fame trainer more resembled a king.
To find him, a visitor had to traverse a long, dusty road, across Union Street from The Spa.
On the right side was a conglomeration of barns and on the left was the Oklahoma training oval, its signature thick white mist blanketing the dirt and looking almost like a moat.
In the distant left corner of the property, the 88-year-old Lukas sat in a modest office chair in front of Barn 83, recognizable by its weather marks and chipping blue and green paint.
But for him it may as well have been a palace throne, perched next to the stall of his reigning Preakness champion.
As the exercise rider prepped Seize the Grey for his workout, Lukas invited The Post over for a quick chat.
Seize the Grey’s victory three weeks ago at Pimlico had given Lukas his record 15th Triple Crown championship — four in the Kentucky Derby, seven in the Preakness and four in the Belmont Stakes — but at this moment the legend wanted to start at the beginning.
“The first one, you think it’s you,” he said. “You’re all pumped up and you say, ‘Man, I won the Preakness!’ or ‘I won the Derby!’ After that, you get kind of a reality check and you [focus on] the clients that supported you, purchased the horse, [have] been involved, [stepped] in and [backed] you.
“So after the first one you’re thinking, boy, this is great for them, and you … push them forward and try to give them an opportunity to feel that same thing that you felt on the first one.”
This time around, there is no shortage of clients for Lukas to care about.
Seize the Grey is owned by a reported 2,570 shareholders via MyRacehorse, which purchased him for $300,000 at the 2022 Fasig-Tipton yearling sale at Saratoga.
At Pimlico, the owners certainly were pleased.
“I thought I was at a football pep rally. Cheering, tugging and jumping up and down and there were so many of them. They were everywhere,” Lukas recalled with a subtle smile. “They all showed up in that long lane going into the winner’s circle. … The state troopers were having [trouble] getting them parted, they couldn’t get the horse into the winner’s circle. It was chaotic.”
To the victors go the spoils, though, and Lukas is being showered with roses at this Belmont Stakes at Saratoga mini-meet from all different directions — friends, competitors, friends who are competitors.
“What made that so special was Wayne himself being able to persevere for so many years and operate at such a high level to win the Preakness at 88,” Todd Pletcher, who trains three of the 10 horses in this Belmont Stakes, told The Post. “It’s a remarkable achievement to compete at the level he has for how long he has.”
Added Bill Mott, age 70, a fellow Hall of Famer and trainer of Belmont competitor Resilient: “I think it’s great. I’m all in for the old-timers because I’m approaching that myself.
“It’s great to see him be able to get his hands on a good horse and he knows how to win big races. … He’s kinda one of our people that anybody should look up to as far as showing his longevity, his durability and his knowledge of the business of handling horses and people.”
There was time for one last question as Seize the Grey was ready to roll: How much do you still enjoy this?
“I enjoy it immensely,” Lukas said. “I like the big arena. I like the competition. I like competing against my good friends like Bill Mott. Two of [trainers in this Belmont] worked for me for years — Todd Pletcher and Mike Maker. So it’s always been very special. I’m going to be 89 [on Sept. 2 during the Saratoga summer meet] and I’m going to get on the pony in a little bit and do the same thing I’ve been doing for [more than] 40 years.”
With that, Fox’s TV crew fitted Lukas for a microphone and turned on the cameras as he climbed on the back of his horse, Bucky, to accompany Seize the Grey to his workout.
He put on his dark sunglasses, which provided a perfect contrast to his cream-colored cowboy hat.
Is there a cooler near-nonagenarian in sports — or anywhere, for that matter?
Long live the king!