Kenny McPeek with Maryland Racing Association Commissioner Bobby Lillis. (Photo courtesy of Bobby Lillis)
2024 award winners: Hillwood Stable’s Ellen Charles (Special Award of Merit), Daily Racing Form’s Dan Illman (Old Hilltop Award), WBAL-Radio, producers Scott Wykoff and Pete Medhurst (David F. Woods Memorial Award)
David Joseph/Maryland Jockey Club
BALTIMORE, Md. – Trainer Kenny McPeek, who saddled Thorpedo Anna for a victory in the Kentucky Oaks (G1) and Mystik Dan for an upset score in the Kentucky Derby (G1) last weekend at Churchill Downs, paid tribute to Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas during Thursday’s Alibi Breakfast at Pimlico Race Course, delivered with a little jab at the 88-year-old trainer.
“I finally did something Wayne Lukas hasn’t done – the Oaks-Derby Double. He’s won four Derbys, six Preakness and four Belmonts, do you want to tell us?” McPeek said while looking in the direction of Lukas, who will seek his seventh Preakness victory with Just Steel and Seize the Grey.
When it came time for him to take the podium, Lukas was quick to give it back to McPeek after thanking his rival trainer for bringing his Derby winner to the Middle Jewel of the Triple Crown.
“I went to his office the other day. He was so proud. He had just finished a jigsaw puzzle,” Lukas said. “He said, ‘Wayne look at this! I finished this puzzle in two months, and it says right on the box – 2 to 4 years!’”
Earlier in the Alibi Breakfast, Baltimore radio personality Scott Wykoff and TV analyst Samantha Perry introduced the 2024 award winners: Hillwood Stable’s Ellen Charles (Special Award of Merit), Daily Racing Form’s Dan Illman (Old Hilltop Award), WBAL-Radio, producers Scott Wykoff and Pete Medhurst (David F. Woods Memorial Award).
