Don Combs, who trained Dust Commander to win the 1970 Kentucky Derby, died May 25 at Sayre Christian Village in Lexington, a Sayre Christian Village executive confirmed to BloodHorse May 29. He was 86.
"Mr. Combs will be deeply missed on our campus," said Sayre Christian Village CEO Karen Venis.
Thoroughbred Daily News, which first reported Combs' death, indicated that Combs died from a stroke.
Combs was just 31 years old when Illinois-bred Dust Commander scored in the Derby. The colt also won the Blue Grass Stakes at Keeneland nine days before his five-length win in the Run for the Roses. Combs had been training on his own for just three years at the time.
Dust Commander, a son of Bold Commander, won eight out of his 42 starts.
READ: Faith in Dust Commander Paid off in 1970 Kentucky Derby
In a 2020 story in BloodHorse, Combs said Dust Commander could be difficult around the barn, saying, "He would eat you up, but every day I would take him outside and graze him in new grass in Kentucky for about an hour, and he loved that."
Dust Commander won the Derby by five lengths at odds of 15-1 under Mike Manganello.
"I thought he would run well," Combs said. "I'm not a person that jumps and yells and hollers. I enjoy wins to myself because that is just my personality. But it was just a special, special day."
Several weeks after the Derby, following a ninth-place finish from Dust Commander in the Preakness Stakes, Combs resigned as the colt's trainer after falling out with owner Robert Lehmann.
Dust Commander made his mark as a stallion standing at the historic Golden Chance Farm in Paris, Ky., from 1971-74 until he was exported to Japan. He returned to the United States in 1979, where he stood at Gainesway Farm near Lexington and ultimately Springland Farms, where he died in 1991 at the age of 24. His most notable progeny include 1975 Preakness Stakes winner Master Derby and multiple graded stakes winner Run Dusty Run.
In 2013, Dust Commander's remains were relocated to the Kentucky Derby Museum in Louisville, Ky.
Combs continued to train until 2019. According to Equibase, he won 441 races from 1975-2019, statistics that do not reflect his initial years as a trainer.
