Thoroughbred owner/trainer Richard John Lugovich, 80 years old, of East Hanover Township, Pennsylvania, died on November 15, aged 80.
Born on September 3, 1942 in Bridgeport, Conn., he is the son of the late Stanley and Martha (Wolynski) Lugovich and also the son of siblings June and Stanley Jr.
As a freerider, he is survived by his wife of 48 years, Lisa L. (Hubbell) Lugovich; sons Richard John Lugovich Jr., Stephen Michael Lugovich and John Daniel Lugovich; and brother Charles Lugovich.
As a coach, Equibase lists Lugovich as having won 106 races from 1,409 starts with earnings of $1,791,055 from 1978-2022. His most recent start is Listen in second runner at finger lake November 9
His biggest earner is Keep the salsa who he owns and races to win at Belmont Park and Aqueduct race track in 2020. Operating this year, Hold me back The 4-year-old foal is 3 to 15 with an income of $284,162. Hold the Salsa was bred in New York by Lugovich in addition to King Cugat mare Northern Mambo .
Lugovich also bred and campaigned for other athletes to earn more than $100,000, including royal joke , Lost in the forest and regal praise .
Lugovich’s birthday celebration will be held in the spring of 2023.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Cutler Scholars Fund, PO Box 56, Cutler, ME 04626, or USO, PO Box 96860, Washington, DC 20077.
This press release has been edited by BloodHorse Staff for content and style.
