Louisville, Ky. – Hall of Fame Horse Racing Trainer D. Wayne Lukas was hospitalized and will not return to training, Churchill Downs announced Sunday after talking to members of his family.

Luke’s family said the 89-year-old man struggled with a serious infection that worsened and rejected an aggressive treatment plan to return instead. His horses were transferred to assistant coach Sebastian “Bas” Nicholl.

“Wayne has built a legacy that never matches,” Nicholl said. “Every decision I make, every horse I saddle, I will hear his voice in my mind. It’s not about filling his shoes – no one can. It’s about everything he built. ‘

Luke is one of the most competent people in the history of the sport. His 15 Triple Crown victories are second just for good friend Bob Baffert, and Lukas has a record-20 in the Breeders Cup.

He has won the Kentucky Derby four times since 1988. His most recent victory in the Triple Crown came last year with the gray in the Preakness, his seventh – one short of Baffert’s record.

“Wayne is one of the biggest competitors and most important figures in thoroughbred race,” said Mike Anderson, president of Churchill Downs. “He exceeded the sport of horse racing and took the industry to new levels. The lasting impact of his character and wisdom, of his acute horse manhood to his unparalleled attention to detail, would really be missed. The scope of this news is tremendous, and our prayers are with his family and friends around the world during this difficult time.”

Luke is lovingly known around the barns and the racetrack as ‘coach’ for starting his professional career with horses. Even with months before his 90th birthday, he would get up on his pony in the early hours of the morning and go to the track himself, rather than having his assistants doing the daily work.

Darnell Wayne Lukas born on September 2, 1935 in Wisconsin as the second of three children, he came to a prominence in the sport with quarter horses in racing that are effective sprints. He moved into full blood in the late 1970s and won his first Preakness with Codex in 1980.

Luke has 4.967 documented victories in thoroughbred racing, with its horses earning more than $ 310 million from more than 30,600.