posted June 3, 2009 at 15:10 EST in Triple Crown Articles
Belmont Stakes - All Time Triple Crown Leading Trainer
While much of the focus and attention this week is on jockey Calvin Borel’s quest to become the first jockey to win all three Triple Crown races on more than one horse, there is a trainer seeking his own place in the history books.
Hall of fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas is tied with James “Sunny Jim” Fitzsimmons as the leading trainer in Triple Crown wins with 13.
Lukas has won four Kentucky Derbys, five Preaknesses and four Belmonts. Beginning with Tabasco Cat's 1994 Preakness win, Lukas won a record six consecutive Triple Crown races.
The trainer is no stranger to Belmont Park. He won three consecutive Belmont Stakes from 1994-96 with Tabasco Cat ($8.80), Thunder Gulch ($5.00) and Editor’s Note ($13.60).
His most recent Belmont Stakes victory was with Commendable ($39.60) in 2000.
His overall record in the third jewel of the Triple Crown betting stands at 19-4-0-1.
Lukas has amassed over $250 million in career earnings and has won more than 4,500 races. In addition to his excellent record in Triple Crown races, he has won a record 18 Breeders’ Cup races.
While he has gone eight years without a Belmont victory, his presence has been felt in recent years.
His former top assistants Kiaran McLaughlin and Todd Pletcher won back to back Belmont Stakes in 2006-07 with Jazil and Rags to Riches respectively.
Can the four-time Eclipse Award winner for outstanding trainer pull off the upset and become the all time leading trainer in Triple Crown wins this year?
The former basketball coach called simply “The Coach” has a pair of runners he sends out, both likely to be sent off at generous prices in Saturday’s race.
Flying Private is a son of 2000 Kentucky Derby winner Fusaichi Pegasus out of the Unbridled mare Beautiful Treasure.
After finishing 19th and beaten 43 ¾ lengths in the Kentucky Derby, the colt bounced back with a much better effort in a fourth place finish in the Preakness Stakes.
The colt had some traffic troubles and was only beaten four lengths for the top spot.
His stablemate is Luv Gov, a son of Ten Most Wanted out of the Nepal mare City of Silver.
The colt had trouble finding his way to the winners circle for the first time. The colt made six starts as a two year old, with just one in the money finish.
His three-year-old campaign started better, with three consecutive runner up finishes. He finally picked up his diploma in his tenth career start with a sharp win in the slop at Churchill Downs in May.
Lukas then ambitiously stuck his recent maiden winner in the Preakness Stakes, where the colt was near the back of the pack, came with a eight wide run and passed a couple of tiring rivals to finish eighth.
The colt certainly looks like he is overmatched in the field, but Lukas turned around Commendable, who checked in 17th in the Kentucky Derby and came back to win the Belmont Stakes, paying $39.60.
Commendable did have a tougher three-year-old campaign, checking in fourth in three graded stakes before his Derby start.
If you are looking for a longshot to beat Mine That Bird, you could do worse than backing a D. Wayne Lukas runner in the Belmont Stakes. A win wager on each of his 19 starters would have returned a profit of 76%.
While Luv Gov just does not look quick enough, Flying Private looks eerily similar to Commendable. They both come into the Belmont with just one win, were in the mix in Derby prep races, and were outrun in the Kentucky Derby.
The main difference is that while Commendable skipped the Preakness, Flying Private came back two weeks later with a good fourth.
Can he move forward off that effort and compete with the likes of Mine That Bird and Charitable Man?
That remains to be seen, but at least the odds will be generous and if you decide to back the colt, it does not hurt to have a hall of fame trainer with 13 Triple Crown wins in your corner.
