1/ST announced Wednesday that graded races at Santa Anita and Gulfstream Park will be renamed to honor late trainers D. Wayne Lukas and Christophe Clement.
Starting in 2026, the GII Santa Monica Stakes at Santa Anita will become the D. Wayne Lukas Stakes, while Gulfstream Park’s GIII La Prevoyante Stakes has been renamed the Christophe Clement Stakes.
“D. Wayne Lukas and Christophe Clement were not just generational horsemen, they were top-class people,” said 1/ST President Aidan Butler. “Santa Anita and Gulfstream were blessed to be their homes for many years. It is an honor to salute them for years to come at our tracks by renaming races that helped launch their success stories.”
Lukas saddled Flack Flack to win the 1980 Santa Monica, then run as a handicap. The victory marked his first Grade II race at Santa Anita Park and just his ninth graded stakes win after transitioning from Quarter Horses to Thoroughbreds.
The legendary trainer went on to capture five more Santa Monica victories with Parsley (1980), Bara Lass (1984), Pine Tree Lane (1987 and 1988) and Hall of Fame filly Serena’s Song (1996).
Only trainer Bob Baffert’s seven wins surpass Lukas’s record in the seven-furlong race, which has been contested since 1957.
Lukas, who built his successful career based at Santa Anita Park from the 1970s through the 1990s, passed away June 28, less than three months before his 90th birthday.
For Clement, the 1992 La Prevoyante provided just the second graded stakes win of his emerging career when Irish-bred Sardaniya won for His Highness the Aga Khan. The victory came less than a month after his first graded win at Gulfstream Park.
The La Prevoyante — currently run at Gulfstream over 1 1/2 miles on turf for fillies and mares — became a signature race for Clement. His 1992 triumph at Calder was the first of six wins in the event, followed by victories with Tampoli (1994), Caretta (1998 and 1999), Irish Mission (2014) and Beautiful Lover (2022).
Clement passed away May 24 at age 59.
