It would be negligent of anyone covering Kentucky sports today to overlook the death of a titan, perhaps the titan of the whole thoroughbred racing business, in addition to the Kentucky Derby and Keeneland Sales.
The first time I attended the Derby Draw at the Kentucky Derby Museum over 40 years ago, I was fortunate enough to meet up with the former Wisconsin basketball coach.On that particular day, D. Wayne Lukas was present along with his good friend Bobby Knight, another basketball coach.
Additionally, I had the opportunity to meet Coach Knight, the trainer who revolutionized thoroughbred racing by producing horses that won over $300 million and earning him the title of Coach, thanks to my extensive coverage of collegiate basketball. After training numerous elite thoroughbred trainers throughout the years and winning 15 Triple Crown races—second only to Bob Baffert in 2017—he deserved that.
Even at the age of 89, D. Wayne prepared for his 51st and final Run for the Roses at Churchill Downs this past spring, and he will always look better in a Stetson and saddle. could have a more attractive barn on the rear. Additionally, no one could better explain D. Wayne’s contributions to racing than his finest student and opponent, Baffert, on X Sunday.
According to Baffert, Wayne changed the game and improved horse racing. He made the owner’s lineage less significant than the horse’s. He established a presence at all of America’s major racetracks by developing a system for traveling coast to coast with his horses. Wayne also didn’t just appear. He was in charge. He became known as D. Wayne off the plane since he won so much. He created the model that the rest of us still adhere to. He truly had a vision.
Yes, he was. However, D. Wayne lived the future and led us there; he didn’t merely envision it. Really, I conquered it.
Once more, Steve Flesch
We shouldn’t be shocked by whatever the 58-year-old left-handed golfer from Union, who attended the University of Kentucky and Covington Catholic, accomplishes. However, Steve Flesch put up an incredible effort to finish sixth at the U.S. Senior Open on Sunday at The Broadmoor in Colorado Springs. He won $132,039 for the four-day event with a four-under-par 276.
That finish only adds to the more than $25 million ($25,412,682 to be exact) that Flesch has earned in his 35-year pro golf career, which included time off as a Golf Channel analyst. Flesch has won 10 times on all three pro golf tours.
On the UK depth chart, there are two
With less than two months until UK football’s first kickoff, the Wildcats’ preseason depth chart features a redshirt freshman as the first backup and a second-year player from Northern Kentucky as the starter.
The starting tight end is a 6-foot-4, 251-pound player.Last fall, Willie Rodriguez, a true freshman from CovCath and Taylor Mill, played in all 12 games and started three of them. He had five receptions at an average of 18.8 yards per catch. Rodriguez, ranked No. 81, had a fantastic spring and a successful 2024 true freshman season, according to The Cat’s Pause.
Aba Selm, a 6-4, 303-pound right guard from Independence and Simon Kenton, is the backup and the team’s second-best offensive guard. The 6-5, 314-pound Selm will be in line behindJalen Farmer of Covington, Georgia, will be designated as a freshman this fall after playing in two games during his redshirt season the previous year.
Dan Weber can be reached at [email protected]. You can follow him at @dweber3440 on X (previously Twitter).
