This year, we are excited to announce that our Keynote Speaker is the very accomplished horse trainer D. Wayne Lukas.

Fascinated with horses at a young age, Lukas started training Quarter Horses in the 1960s, eventually being inducted into the American Quarter Horse Hall of Fame in 2007.

Moving to Thoroughbreds full-time in the 1970s, Lukas has won 14 Triple Crown races, 20 Breeders’ Cup races and numerous Eclipse Awards recognizing his record 26 champion Thoroughbreds.

He was inducted into Thoroughbred racing’s Hall of Fame in 1999 and is still an active trainer.

The horse racing industry, much like the asphalt industry, is so integral to Kentucky's history. We can't wait to learn more about D. Wayne Lukas' Road to the Derby.

Our keynote speaker is Tori Murden McClure - President of Spalding University in Louisville, Kentucky.

Tori may be best known as the first woman and first American to row solo and unassisted across the Atlantic Ocean. Also, she was the first woman and first American to travel over land to the geographic South Pole skiing 750-miles from the ice-shelf to the pole.

Tori has worked as chaplain of Boston City Hospital, as policy assistant to the Mayor of Louisville, director of a shelter for homeless women, and has worked with the boxer and humanitarian Muhammad Ali. Tori is an accomplished mountaineer and has completed major climbs on several continents.

Tori is a graduate of Smith College. She holds a Masters in Divinity from Harvard Divinity School, a Juris Doctorate from the University of Louisville Brandeis School of Law, and a Masters of Fine Arts in Writing from Spalding University. Her book A Pearl in the Storm was published by Harper Collins. Tori and her husband, Charles, better known as “Mac,” reside in Louisville, Kentucky.

We are very excited to hear more of Ms. Mclure's story!