D. Wayne Lukas, one of the most accomplished and influential trainers in the history of North American horse racing, has died.

Lukas died on the evening of June 28 at age 89. He was hospitalized in Louisville last week after a severe MRSA blood infection caused significant damage to the thoroughbred trainer's heart, digestive system and worsened preexisting chronic conditions, according to a statement from the Lukas family.

Born Darnell Wayne Lukas on Sept. 2, 1935, in Wisconsin as the second of three children, he rose to prominence in the sport with quarter horses in races that are effectively sprints. He moved into thoroughbreds in the late 1970s and won his first Preakness with Codex in 1980.