Triple Threat

Nothing that Wayne Lukas does in the Kentucky Derby is ordinary. He hasn't saddled as many Derby winners as Ben Jones, whose six winners started with Lawrin in 1938 and ended with Hill Gail in 1952, and included Whirlaway and Citation in between. Lukas had to run 12 horses in the Derby, over seven years, before he got his first of two victories. And 21 of Lukas' 26 Derby starters have finished out of the money. Yet for this era, Lukas is Mr. Derby, if for no other reason than he's always here. His mother called him Darrell, but anybody else would say that the initial in D. Wayne Lukas' name stands for Derby.

On Saturday, when the Derby is run for the 122nd time, Lukas will outdo even himself and break another record: He will start five horses. The mark that will fall belongs to James Rowe Sr., who finished sixth, seventh, 15th and 20th with four horses in 1923.

Last year, when Lukas ran three horses, including the winner, Thunder Gulch, he upped his 15-year participation record to 26, breaking the record of 24 by the aptly named Derby Dick Thompson from 1920 to 1937. Among active trainers, the horseman second to Lukas on the total-starter list is the semi-retired Woody Stephens with 14.

Although Lukas nominated 17 horses to the Triple Crown series this year, it's unthinkable that five of them--25% of the 20-horse field--will be running. In five previous years, Lukas has had more than 17 nominees--he had 29 horses eligible in 1991--but three has been the most he has run in the Derby.

"Wayne has changed the business of horse training," trainer Charlie Whittingham said. "He's a credit to the game."

Whittingham, 83, has been training since 1934, the year before Lukas was born, and with a much more selective program has won as many Derbies as Lukas with only six starters. Whittingham will saddle the longshot Corker here Saturday.

Despite his high profile, Lukas sneaked up on the Derby both times he won it--with the filly Winning Colors in 1988 and with Thunder Gulch at 24-1 last year--and Saturday's five horses are not highly regarded, either, not because they are stiffs, but because all were beaten in their Derby preps.

Victory Speech and Honour And Glory, who race for Michael Tabor, the owner of Thunder Gulch, finished third last time, in the Jim Beam Stakes and the Santa Anita Derby. Editor's Note and Grindstone, who race for William T. Young, were third and second, respectively, in the Blue Grass and the Arkansas Derby. And Prince Of Thieves, whose following has swelled since a bleeding incident that contributed to a sixth-place run in the Santa Anita Derby, was narrowly beaten in the Lexington Stakes, a race he would have won with a better ride from Pat Day.

Last year, Lukas wore a "Timber Country" baseball cap at the barn all during Derby week, and when Thunder Gulch won and the other horse ran third, the press accused him of camouflaging Thunder Gulch. Lukas says that he didn't talk much about Thunder Gulch before the Derby because not many questions were asked about him.

"This year, Victory Speech has been forgotten," Lukas said. "But hit me with the questions, and I'll talk about him. This isn't a political campaign; I'm not pushing any of my candidates, but I think it's a pretty good group."

Timber Country, of course, was instrumental in keeping Lukas' record streak of five consecutive Triple Crown victories alive. He won the Preakness, the middle race in the series, while Thunder Gulch was running third at Pimlico, and then Thunder Gulch completed the unique 1995 Triple Crown sweep with a victory in the Belmont Stakes.

"Somebody told me that I'm 5-1 in Las Vegas to win my sixth straight, and 4-1 not to do it," Lukas said. "I guess you'd have to say that the odds are against me, because the Derby is the toughest of the Triple Crown races to win twice in a row.

"After all, only three guys have done it before."

The three trainers with consecutive wins in the Derby have been H.J. Thompson with Burgoo King and Brokers Tip in 1932-33; Jimmy Jones with Iron Liege and Tim Tam in 1957-58, and Lucien Laurin with Riva Ridge and Secretariat in 1972-73.

Lukas' unprecedented Triple Crown run started when Tabasco Cat won the Preakness and the Belmont in 1994. This year, his head wear is borderline generic: A black baseball cap with yellow lettering--Preakness colors, actually--has an arc of five stars with the number "5" in the center and the words "Triple Crown" at the bottom.

Mention the Lukas name to any trainer on the backstretch, and there's a reaction, whether merely a roll of the eyes or an outright opinion.