Veteran Horse Trainer D. Wayne Lukas's Net Worth Could Buy a Stable and Then Some

There was a time when the best way to get a winning horse was through the talents of horse trainer D. Wayne Lukas. This man had a special touch when it came to producing thoroughbreds that would come in first. According to The New York Times, D. Wayne "trained winners of seven Preakness Stakes, four Kentucky Derbies, and four Belmont Stakes, and his horses swept all three legs of the Triple Crown in 1995." He horsed around, but he never horsed around.

His career spanned 60 years and earned D. Wayne four Eclipse Awards as the country's best horse trainer. The horses that D. Wayne trained went on to earn purses of more than $300 million. D. Wayne's life was also marked by tragedy after his son suffered a near-fatal accident while training a horse. He never fully recovered, which led to D. Wayne financially supporting his son. This undoubtedly affected the horse trainer's net worth. Let's take a look.

After working for six decades to become one of the best in his field, it's no surprise that D. Wayne Lukas was reportedly worth roughly $350 million, per the Daily Mail. Before D. Wayne became a sought-after horse trainer, he was a high school teacher and basketball coach in La Crosse, Wis. He was raised on a farm, and D. Wayne couldn't ignore his pull toward horses.

In 1968, at the age of 33, D. Wayne trained quarter horses in California. It was clear this was what he was meant to do because 24 world champions and 10 years later, he made the jump to thoroughbreds. On Oct. 20, 1977, D. Wayne secured his first win and would go on to become the first horse trainer to earn over $100 million in purse money. He was the highest earner for 14 years in a row.

By the 1980s, D. Wayne had a private jet that he used to fly all over the country to check out horses for his stables. He also mentored up-and-coming trainers. Despite being criticized for training horses too hard, which resulted in a few injuries, he was working up until the age of 88 when D. Wayne became the oldest trainer to win a Triple Crown race. He died June 28, 2025.

Per a statement by the Lukas family, the veteran horse trainer died peacefully at his home in Louisville, Ky., surrounded by loved ones. "Wayne devoted his life not only to horses but to the industry – developing generations of horsemen and horsewomen and growing the game by inviting unsuspecting fans into the winner’s circle," they wrote. A cause of death was not revealed, but he had been hospitalized in early June for methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, a bacterial skin infection.

D. Wayne is survived by his wife Laurie Lynn Lukas as well as grandchildren and great-grandchildren. He also leaves behind an "extended family of horsemen and horsewomen whose lives he shaped, mentored, and inspired."