In the horse racing community, Bob Baffert is a bona fide superstar. With six Kentucky Derby, eight Preakness Stakes, and three Kentucky Oaks wins under his belt, Baffert truly is a member of a club that doesn’t have many members. And that’s exactly why, when he has to bid one last adieu to his buddies, it’s a kind of sadness that weighs in heavily.

Like Baffert, D. Wayne Lukas is another name that commands the utmost respect of the horse racing fans. Lukas boasted four Kentucky Derby and five Kentucky Oaks victories, along with 4,967 thoroughbred wins over his career. With his equine partners earning $301 million from 30,607 starts, including 1,105 stakes wins, the late trainer was easily one of the most accomplished stars in the business. Naturally, when news came in that the Hall of Famer had passed on from this mortal world on Saturday, the community couldn’t help but feel their hearts shatter into a million pieces. And surely enough, Baffert had to pay his tributes to his fallen comrade.

In a post on X from June 29, Bob Baffert extolled his long-time colleague with an emotional statement. “First saw D. Wayne Lukas as a teenager at a small County Fair racetrack close to my hometown in Nogales, Arizona…He won race after race and made such a huge impression on me that I fell in love with Quarter horse racing right there,” Baffert didn’t hesitate to underscore how the recently deceased horse trainer was a role model he looked up to.

“I’ll miss him every day for the rest of my life,” noted Baffert in his social media update. And Baffert would have a lot of reasons to remember Lukas whenever he goes about doing his business. “…when I transitioned into Thoroughbreds, Wayne was the competition, and all I wanted was to beat him in big races,” Baffert recalled in his post. Well, Bob did have a lot of reasons to consider Lukas as the benchmark to attain.

The 15-time Triple Crown race-winning D. Wayne, who passed away at 89, ranks third in career victories, fifth in career earnings, and sixth in total wins. Obviously, with Baffert having 17 Triple Crown race victories under his own belt, his rivalry with Lukas became part of horse racing lore. But that competition also forged a bond between them that became a defining cornerstone of the sport itself.

“We’ve become best of friends. We really enjoy each other now,” said Baffert after Lukas introduced him during the former’s induction into the National Museum of Racing’s Hall of Fame. The rivalry was fueled by Bob Lewis, who was a horse owner who worked with both trainers. “I think Bob Lewis liked pitting us against each other. I think Bob enjoyed it a little bit,” Baffert joked. Lewis won the Kentucky Derby with Silver Charm in 1997, trained by Baffert, and with Charismatic in 1999, trained by Lukas.

But now, with D. Wayne gone from among us, one would even speculate that Baffert will lose one of his main motivations to win races.

Who will Bob Baffert now look to beat?

During the 1990s, Baffert was on his way to the top of the pecking order, while Lukas was slowly losing his authority. That was when the rivalry between the two trainers was at its peak. That contest spilled even into the decades that followed. The intense competition once again came to the fore in 2018, when Justify and Bravazo, trained by Baffert and Lukas, respectively, were the top two contenders to win the Belmont Stakes. It was Bob who had the last laugh and finally surpassed D. Wayne for the most Triple Crown race wins in history.

At the Preakness Stakes this year, the two legendary trainers crossed paths once again. Baffert entered the 150th edition of the iconic race with Goal Oriented, while American Promise was Lukas’ flagbearer. Ahead of the race, Baffert once again recalled how his storied rivalry with Lukas has transformed over the years, underscoring that the race at Pimlico would once again be like a friendly banter among themselves on the turf.

Now, it the legendary rivalry has finally run its course. But will D. Wayne Lukas’ passing make Baffert feel like his reason to win races is finally made irrelevant? Or will this be the event that makes Bob try harder as a way to pay homage to his late comrade with every victory? “I hope somewhere along the way, I made him proud,” wrote Baffert at the end of his tribute. Well, if he manages to win that elusive seventh Kentucky Derby victory to finally beat Ben Jones’ record, perhaps nothing would make Lukas prouder of his rival than that.