The family, including his siblings Dauna and Lowell, made their home in Antigo, Wisconsin. As a child Lukas received a pony named Queenie from his parents. The gift would shape his future.

Lukas and his pony spent countless hours riding around, camping, and racing other kids on their ponies from the small town. Queenie eventually became the horse on which he performed tricks while entertaining crowds at the local fair. The mare also would take the title of first horse to be entered in a race and first winner when D. Wayne was just 16 years old. His son, Jeff, took his early riding lessons on Queenie.

D. Wayne Lukas spent his younger years working with his horse as well as the numerous wild horses he and his friend, Clyde Rice, purchased at auction. Breaking each horse, teaching each one, learning from them all along. While becoming a true horseman, Lukas completed his high school education and was granted a basketball scholarship to the University of Wisconsin at Lacrosse.

After graduating from college in 1958, he began a teaching career at Blair High School in Blair, Wisconsin. Along with teaching Physical Education, Lukas was coaching baseball, football and basketball. He returned to the University of Wisconsin in 1960 to complete his master's degree in education. At this time he also took on the role as assistant basketball coach to Johnny Orr.

In 1961 having completed his master's D. Wayne Lukas sold his idea for a basketball shoe, which he used as his thesis, to Converse Rubber Company. The shoe was unknowingly yet fittingly named the All-Star Trainer. He began teaching Social Studies and coaching basketball at Logan High School in La Crosse, Wisconsin. For years Lukas had been training horses while teaching and coaching full time. He decided in 1967 to concentrate fully on his training career.

His first Quarter Horse stakes win came with Reller in the 1970 Kansas Derby. That same year Lukas was listed as the leading Quarter Horse trainer by number of wins. Lukas led the nation in either wins or earnings from 1974 to 1977. In 1975 he won 152 races, a figure that doubled that of the previous win records.

Lukas began his migration from the Quarter Horse racing industry and headed into the Thoroughbred industry full time after winning his first Thoroughbred stakes with Harbor Hauler in 1974 at Pomona in California. He purchased Terlingua as a yearling in 1977 at Keeneland for $275,000 and she went on to defeat colts in her first start, the 1978 Nursery Stakes at Hollywood Park, and put the name D. Wayne Lukas on the tips of all tongues in the industry.

In 1980 Codex won the Preakness Stakes under a blast of controversy. Jacinto Vasquez, the jockey of Kentucky Derby winning filly Genuine Risk charged that Angel Cordero Jr. aboard Codex had impeded his mount and hit her in the face with his whip. After much ballyhoo, Codex remained the winner and gave Lukas his first classic victory. The following year, he entered his first horse in the Kentucky Derby. The horse, Partez, finished third behind Pleasant Colony. That same year Lukas raced his last Quarter Horse, leaving the industry with 50 stakes wins, more than any previous trainer. He had won 739 races and won over $4.2 million, a record at that time.

Two years later, he won the prestigious Kentucky Oaks with Blush With Pride. The same year included the beginning and tragic end of the great Landaluce. She won all five of her starts by a combined 46 lengths, including a 21-length win in the six furlong Hollywood Lassie Stakes in her second start. That autumn, she died from the disease colitis before being named Eclipse Champion Two-Year-Old Filly. That same year Lukas and Pat Kaufman divorced.

The decade of the 80's continued with more riches. Lukas was the leading trainer by earnings in 1983 and that trend remained through 1992. In 1985 he received his first Eclipse Award for leading trainer. He had won his second Preakness Stakes with Tank's Prospect, finished first and second in both the Breeders' Cup Distaff and Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies. The following year he earned a second Eclipse Award as outstanding trainer and recorded Lady's Secret as his first Horse of the Year. Lukas set a record for earnings ($17,502,110) and number of stakes winners (92) in 1987 and was again the Eclipse trainer.

A new addition was made to the D. Wayne Lukas list of accomplishments in 1988 when he won the Kentucky Derby. Two years earlier Lukas had purchased the filly Winning Colors for $575,000 at the Keeneland July Selected Yearling Sale. She made two starts at two, winning at both Saratoga and Santa Anita. She made her stakes debut in January of her three-year-old year winning the La Centinela S. at Santa Anita by 6 lengths. After finishing second in the Las Virgenes S.-G1 she won the Santa Anita Oaks-G1 by eight lengths and headed to the Santa Anita Derby against colts. It was an easy test defeating the boys by 7 engths. Her next challenge was the Kentucky Derby. Winning Colors became the third filly to win the classic event and Lukas' first winner. The year wrapped up with Lukas adding more Breeders' Cup wins to his collection. He won the Sprint with Gulch and the Juvenile with Is It True. He finished first, second and third in the Juvenile Fillies, winning with Open Mind. His Winning Colors finished a tight second in the Breeders' Cup Distaff to undefeated Personal Ensign, the Race of the Year. Once again he topped his own earnings record establishing a new mark, $17,842,358. Lukas completed the decade with his Open Mind winning the Triple Tiara and began a partnership with W. T. Young/Overbrook Farm.

In 1990 Seaside Attraction gave Lukas his fifth Kentucky Oaks win, ranking him 2nd amongst all winning trainers of that historic event. Calumet Farm's Criminal Type gave Lukas his second Horse of the Year and began yet another momentous partnership when Robert and Beverly Lewis joined Team Lukas.

Lukas swept the Triple Crown in 1995 though with two different horses. While setting a record number of career starters in the Kentucky Derby, Lukas won with Thunder Gulch, who also won the Belmont Stakes while Timber Country collected the Preakness Stakes. The following year Lukas won his third Kentucky Derby with Grindstone and Editor's Note won the Belmont Stakes.

As the decade came to a close the Racing Hall of Fame honored him with induction in 1999. That year Charismatic won the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes. He became the first trainer to top the $200 million mark in career earnings. He became the second leading trainer by number of Preakness Stakes wins and won his first Breeders' Cup Classic with Overbrook Farm's Cat Thief.

The year 2000 brought a close to yet another record. Lukas had entered at least one horse in the Kentucky Derby for 20 straight years, but had no entrant in the 2001 Derby. In 2002 Lukas collected his 17th Breeder's Cup win when Orientate captured the Breeders' Cup Sprint. Lukas is the leading Breeders' Cup trainer with over $18 million which is more than double that of the runner-up. He is the leading trainer of Eclipse Awards with 22 individual winners and 27 total titles won.

Lukas has won 28 races worth at least $1 million dollars and 1,055 stakes. In 2004 D. Wayne Lukas won his 207th Grade 1 race when Horse of the Year Azeri won the Overbrook Spinster S.-G1 at Keeneland. In April, 2005 Grand Reward's win in Grade 2 Oaklawn Handicap, and in October, he won a record 18th Breeders Cup race with Folklore in the Juvenile Fillies to give Lukas his 599th graded stakes win.  Lukas' career earnings are nearing $250 million and he shows no signs of slowing down at age 69.

Throughout the history of horse racing no one person has made such an overwhelming impact as D. Wayne Lukas has to the Thoroughbred industry.