Customer Reviews

D. Wayne: The High-Rolling and Fast Times of America's Premier Horse Trainer

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

While a worthy topic, the incredible number of inacuracies (e.g., in the same paragraph, both Jeff Fell and Jacinto Vasquez were listed as the rider of Pleasant Colony in the '81 KY Derby. Nevermind that the rider was actually Jorge Velasquez...) make the book a frustrating and difficult read. The author also repeatedly calls colts "she." Wayne Lukas is a very complex figure, both loved and scorned. His tale deserves to be told, but it should be done much better than this.

Never been a big fan of Lukas, but as a racing fan, it's about time somebody poked around to get this story. After reading this book, I still can't say I'm a big fan, but I definitely have a better understanding (and some begrudging respect!) for the guy. This book starts out with a fascinating behind the scenes look at Lukas' string of bad luck finding a horse to run in the Derby. He really is an evil genius! Lukas's early years breaking into thoroughbreds was pretty compelling stuff too. Horse fans should definitely get into it. Most of the interviews in here I'd never read before and I can't believe the author got Lukas to talk to him too. On the minus side, Muttering and Marfa are both referred to as fillies. Not so, costing this book my highest rating. However, the stuff on Charismatic and Chris Antley is exceptional and different from the usual racing journalism. A really good read.

I just finished this book, with highlighter in hand. You see from page one where City Zip's name is changed to Zip City, to page 62 where horses have good confirmation to page 80 where Codex is a beautiful chestnut colt to page 84 where Devito is concerned with the breeding fees for Genuine Risk to page 87 where a jockey stood up in the reins to page 108 where Marfa is now a filly running in the KY Derby in the wrong year to page 264 where Bob & Beverly Lewis own Real Quiet... Well, you get my drift. This book is so full of inaccuracies you begin to question the authenticity of everything. Hasn't McGraw Hill ever heard of fact checkers? Don't waste your money unless you want to use it as a trivia game -"How many errors can you find in 10 minutes?".

Inaccuracies aside and there are a lot of them (Northern Dancer being referred to as Native Dancer, etc.) This book is poorly written, nonlinear storytelling being a major fault. The author jumps back in forth in time when discussing horses and races. There also is nothing really new revealed in this book as it's mostly a rehash of already well published facts. Finally it doesn't help that Wayne comes off as humorless and unsympathetic here as he does in real life.

As a racing fan, I've been waiting for this story to come out for years. I've never been a big fan of Lukas, but the chapters about his early years with thoroughbreds are fascinating. I still don't like the guy much, but I do have a new respect for him after reading this book. Also, the author begins the book with Lukas' string of bad luck finding a horse for the Derby a few years ago. There's some great behind the scenes stuff in this section that horse fans will really be into. A few little things bothered me, though. He refers to Muttering and Marfa as fillies. Not so. But otherwise, some great stuff on Charismatic and Chris Antley. An excellent insiders book with some pretty revealing interviews. I give it 4 stars.

A true shame. What purports to be a definitive biography is mostly a paraphrase of several articles and passages from other books.
No trainer in this lifetime influenced the Sport of Kings more than D. Wayne Lukas. His story deserves the treatment of a quality writer and editor. However, the team that conditioned this offering either lacked those qualities (which I honestly doubt), or they simply didn't care to get it right. The book is filled with inaccuracies and misspellings. It is disjointed and frustrating to read.
Readers will find themselves constantly composing a letter to the publisher in their mind. If you are thinking of purchasing this book, wait for the softcover. Instead try Joe Drape's recent account of the triple crown series or try to find Sports Illustrated articles about Lukas.
Specious at best.

A great read, not just for the racing enthusiast, but anyone who loves sports. D.Wayne Lukas wasn't just a horse trainer, he was a motivator as well, and this book highlights his success with horses and people.

By PAGE 1!, there are two serious mistakes. Established trainer and Lukas protege Mark Hennig is referred to as Mark Henning in the introduction and the successful sprinter City Zip is called Zip City. And that's on page 1! Another huge mistake is that the author says Gary Stevens won the 1994 Derby on Go For Gin. These are inexcusable errors that do illustrate a lack of professionalism on the part of the author and a degree of disrespect to Lukas himself. So, if you can forgive that, then check it out. I guess Wayne Lukas isn't Gandhi or Churchill so you can't choose between hundreds of different bios!

This is a powerful book about a powerful man and it's about time we read the whole story about Lukas. Every horseracing fan knows and appreciates the influence Lukas has had on the sport and Carlo DeVito takes us into the mind of Lukas so we see how Lukas evolved from a young college coach to a quarter horse trainer to a business genius to the most winningest horse man around. The photos were a cool feature too! I saw that they came from the Lukas family archives, which makes me think Lukas had some input in this book. This was a great idea for a book. If you want to learn about Lukas as a boy and how and why he made certain decisions and you want to read an unsympathic yet factual account about this man, buy this book.

When I started this book I was excited because there was a lot I did not know about Wayne Lukas. Then I hit page 87 where the author talks about the 1981 Kentucky Derby won by Pleasant Colony. First he says "At the head of the stretch, Pleasant Colony, ridden by Jeffrey Fell, made his move". On the same page he later says "Jacinto Vasquez had been aboard Pleasant Colony and was congratulated by his closest friend Angel Cordero". In reality Pleasant Colony was ridden to victory that day by Jorge Velasquez.

On the next page the author talks about Muttering, a colt that Lukas won the Santa Anita Derby with and ran in the Derby in 1982. Yet on page 88 the author refers to Muttering three times with the word "she" and twice with the word "her".

This book is unbelievable. First the author knows little about thoroughbred racing and secondly no knowledgeable person proof read this book before it was published. How do I know what is real in this book? I read these kinds of books to enhance my knowledge but with this one I can't trust what I read.