ELMONT, N.Y. -- D. Wayne Lukas was walking to the podium, preparing to give a brief interview about his two horses entered in the 141st Belmont Stakes, when he decided to inject a little comedy into the news conference.
With the grace of a much younger man, the silver-haired Lukas, 74, snagged Chip Woolley's crutches and pretended to hobble to the stage. The entire room, including Woolley - who has been on crutches since he broke his leg in a motorcycle accident before the Kentucky Derby - laughed as if they had just watched Steve Martin perform a stand-up routine.
Lukas might not be favored to win the Belmont this year, and he doesn't quite rule the sport of kings as he once did when he was winning almost every Triple Crown race he entered. But he's clearly having more fun than ever. And if Flying Private or Luv Gov happens to come out of nowhere to give him his 14th Triple Crown victory, that wouldn't change his life one bit.
"I'm comfortable," Lukas said. "I'm not getting up tomorrow morning trying to prove I can win this thing. I'm much more comfortable with [the media]; I'm more opinionated, more arrogant, more fun. I've got 13 of these things. I don't really have a whole lot to prove."
Lukas, though, still has a lot to offer racing and seems to enjoy playing the various roles of ambassador, wise man and prankster. When talking about his Wisconsin roots this week, he couldn't resist taking a playful jab at his hometown of Antigo, which has a little more than 8,500 people.
"Our town could never grow because every time a woman got pregnant, another guy left town," Lukas said.
Don't count him out Saturday. In 2000, Lukas won one of the most unlikely Belmonts ever when Commendable came home first despite 19-1 odds and an unimpressive track record. It was his most recent Triple Crown victory, but it tied him with James Fitzsimmons for the most Triple Crown wins by a trainer. He has won the Belmont Stakes four times, including three straight from 1993 to 1995.
"I think it takes a special horse [to win here]," Lukas said. "All of them run a mile and a half. Some of them just take a little longer. Of course, there is a gut check at about the quarter pole. We think we have a couple horses that fit the mold, at least in my opinion, to be competitive. ... We've won this race before with horses that no one gave a shot."
