Born: Sept. 2, 1935, Antigo, WI
Residence: Louisville, KY
Family: Son, Jeff. Jeff had been his father's long-time assistant until a 1993 accident involving Tabasco Cat left him in a coma for several weeks. He currently lives in Ocala, FL.
Racing Background: Lukas is the second of three children and was raised on a 10-acre farm outside of Antigo. Lukas raced his pony at the Antigo County Fairgrounds. Before he was in high school, Lukas began developing his skills for evaluating and buying horses. With his friend Clyde Rice, Lukas bought mustangs headed to the slaughterhouse, broke and trained them and resold them in auctions. That connection with horses was never broken.
- over $252 million in earnings
- over 604 Graded stakes wins
- 13 classic winners (Codex, Tank's Prospect, Winning Colors, Tabasco Cat (2), Thunder Gulch (2), Timber Country, Grindstone, Editor's Note, Charismatic (2), Commendable)
- 18 Breeders' Cup winners (Twilight Ridge, Life's Magic, Capote, Lady's Secret, Success Express, Sacahuista, Open Mind, Is It True, Gulch, Steinlen (GB), Timber Country, Flanders, Boston Harbor, Cat Thief, Cash Run, Spain, Orientate, Folklore)
- 24 Eclipse Champions (Landaluce, Althea, Life's Magic, Family Style, Capote, Lady's Secret, North Sider, Sacahuista, Open Mind, Gulch, Winning Colors, Steinlen (GB), Criminal Type, Flanders, Timber Country, Golden Attraction, Serena's Song, Thunder Gulch, Boston Harbor, Charismatic, Surfside, Orientate, Azeri, Folklore)
- Eclipse Award winning trainer 4 times
- Passed Charlie Whittingham as the all-time leading money winner in 1988 and was the first trainer whose horses earned more than $100 million in purse money. He later was the first to reach the $200 million plateau...Lukas won a record 92 stakes in 1987.