LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) -The broadcast tapes of the 13 Triple Crown victories trainer D. Wayne Lukas has amassed during his Hall of Fame career sit unopened on a shelf somewhere in his house.

Three decades removed from his breakthrough win in the 1980 Preakness with Codex and 22 years after his first victory in the Kentucky Derby with the filly Winning Colors, the video evidence remains wrapped in cellophane like a stash of unwanted Christmas presents.

Sorry, it's just never occurred to the 74-year-old to pop in the tape on a rainy day and play ``remember when.''

Lukas simply doesn't do nostalgia. Too much going on. While others his age are settled into retirement, playing golf and taking it easy, Lukas is at the barn in the pre-dawn hours prepping for another in a seemingly endless string of long days.

So what if the triumphs don't come as frequently as they used to? His philosophy remains the same, win or lose.

``Once they're over, I'm wondering where we're going next,'' Lukas said.

It'll be the same this weekend.

Lukas will saddle his record 44th starter in the Kentucky Derby when he sends 12-1 shot Dublin to the starting gate Saturday afternoon.

Whether the day ends in glory or not, on Sunday morning he'll be back at work in his immaculate barn at Churchill Downs ready to move on.

``I'll be thinking about the Preakness,'' he said.

Lukas is a study in perpetual motion. He rarely sits still. There's always horses to train, hands to shake, pictures to pose for. He spent part of Thursday morning hustling from group to group, entertaining reporters with sound bites before glad-handing track officials and regaling fans with stories from his legendary career.

``I'm in awe with his attitude,'' said trainer Nick Zito. ``I don't think I've ever seen the guy down. ... I think when he's down, he's still up.''

He's needed that attitude during the last decade, at least at the Derby. Lukas captured the Run for the Roses four times between 1988-99. His average finish in eight Derby starts since his last win is 12th. Most of those entries have been long shots like Flying Private, who finished dead last in 2009.

Dublin is Lukas' best shot in years at picking up his fifth garland of roses. The 3-year-old chestnut colt has hit the board in all three of his starts this spring, finishing second in the Southwest and third in both the Rebel and the Arkansas Derby.

``I'm very much in the mix, the other trainers know that too,'' he said.

In case they need a reminder, they need only look out on the track. While peers like Zito and Bob Baffert watch their horses work from the rail, Lukas is out there on his pony to get a better look.

It's what he's always done. Only this week, he appears to be riding just a little higher in the saddle.

Maybe it's because his recent struggles in the Classics have humbled him. He won so regularly in the 1990s - capturing seven of nine Triple Crown races between 1994-96 - that he took it for granted.

Not these days.

``When you're young you think you're invincible and everything,'' he said. ``Now you say 'Let's take advantage of anything you can.'''

Reaching that point took some time.

He clashed with Baffert in the '90s when the two were competing for the same owners, namely Bob Lewis. The ever shrewd Lewis would play the two trainers off each other in an effort to get more out of them.

``We were fighting for the same dollars,'' Baffert said. ``He was trying to hold his position. I was trying to get there.''

Their relationship is considerably warmer these days. Lukas and Baffert spent one morning this week cracking jokes while filming a television segment.

Though there remains a competitive spirit between the two, the years have led to a mutual respect.

``He's mellowed out a lot,'' Baffert said. ``I think he's starting to enjoy it more.''

Need proof? Check out his wardrobe.

The always impeccably clad Lukas has taken a more business casual approach these days. Baffert expressed shock before the Rebel Stakes when he saw Lukas walking around in short sleeves.

``I'm like 'Oh, we're going to beat you today, you're dressed for Los Alamitos, the quarterhorse track,'' Baffert said.

That was Arkansas. At Churchill Downs, where the spotlight is a little brighter, the nattily clad Lukas has returned.

Zito was in the paddock before a nondescript race last Sunday simply trying to stay dry in a raincoat and baseball cap. He turned around and saw Lukas in one of his finely tailored suits, complete with sunglasses.

``I'm saying to myself 'What am I missing here?''' Zito said. ``This isn't the Derby or the Oaks. His presentation is beyond belief.''

And it's not going anywhere anytime soon.

Lukas will turn 75 in September, yet he looks 10 years younger. He's fit, tan and bounds across the track with an energy of someone half his age.

Retirement? He can't even say the word.

``As long as you don't lose your mental capacity and so forth there's no reason (to retire),'' he said. ``It's not physical. I don't have to climb a roof or anything.''

As long as he can hop on his pony each morning, he'll be here.

``I just think I'll probably ride out there one day and fall off and they'll bury me under and that'll be it,'' he said with a laugh.