Criminal Type, Lady’s Secret, and the Lukas School: Memories from Gary Stevens and Pat Day

The two jockeys relive unique moments alongside the trainer in a historic race

Lady’s Secret and Pat Day Triumph in the 1986 Whitney / NYRA

SARATOGA SPRINGS, New York (Special for Turf Diario).- As a jockey based in California, Gary Stevens knew that riding for D. Wayne Lukas meant always having his suitcase packed.

“He counted on me to travel practically every week,” Stevens recalled. “There was a stretch of 16 consecutive weekends where I was taking red-eye flights.”

One of those trips took him to Saratoga to ride Criminal Type in the 1990 Whitney. Stevens was stepping in for José Santos, who had won three straight Grade 1 races aboard the Alydar colt but was suspended and unable to ride that afternoon.

“My agent called and said, ‘You got a mount in the Whitney, and Wayne needs you there.’ That’s how it worked: you got used to hopping on a plane and being available when the phone rang.”

After riding six horses at Del Mar on Friday, August 3, Stevens took a red-eye flight and arrived at Saratoga solely to ride in one race: the Whitney. If you’re crossing the country for a single mount, it better be on a 2-5 favorite in a Grade 1.

Bred by Calumet Farm, Criminal Type had progressed from a useful allowance horse to a Grade 1 contender at five years old. He won two Grade 2 events at Santa Anita before taking the Pimlico Special, the Metropolitan Mile, and the Hollywood Gold Cup, defeating champions Easy Goer (Alydar) and Sunday Silence (Halo) in the latter two.

In the Whitney, facing a solid but not stellar field, Criminal Type broke from the rail, hesitated briefly, then took the lead entering the first turn, opening up. He posted splits of 24.53 and 48.81 seconds and held strong to the wire, defeating Dancing Spree (Nijinsky), ridden by Angel Cordero Jr., by 1 ½ lengths. The final time for the 1 1/8 miles was 1:48.65, and Stevens smiled — the trip had been worth it.

“That was one of the best replacement rides I ever had,” said the jockey, winner of 5,187 races. “José [Santos] and I pushed each other. He rode on the East Coast for Lukas and I on the West. But like Wayne used to say, ‘This isn’t marriage; it’s dating.’ That time, I got a date with Criminal Type. And it was one of the easiest, for good money.”

By then, Stevens was a key piece of the Lukas team, having won the 1988 Kentucky Derby with Winning Colors(Caro). Other triumphs followed, including the 1995 Derby and Belmont with Thunder Gulch (Gulch) and the 2013 Preakness with Oxbow (Awesome Again).

“Wayne had a particular way of motivating you,” Stevens said. “Being on his team was like being in a pressure cooker. You either improved as a jockey or you were out. I made mistakes with him, and his son Jeff would let you know, too. Sometimes you got a ‘suspension’ for six months over a ride he didn’t like. But he was loyal. A great friend. I’m devastated by his passing.”

Over time, Stevens learned to trust Lukas’ judgment:

“Sometimes I’d breeze a horse and wasn’t convinced. But in the race, Wayne would say the horse was ready. And it was. You might think you had no chance, but when you left the paddock, you felt the only way to lose was to make a mistake. He made you believe.”

Criminal Type’s victory was Lukas’ second in the Whitney, after his 1986 success with Lady’s Secret, the fabulous Secretariat filly ridden by Pat Day.

Bred in Oklahoma, Lady’s Secret won 10 races in 1985 (including the Test at Saratoga) and finished second in the Eclipse voting as top 3-year-old filly. In 1986, she ran eight times before the Whitney, winning five, three of them Grade 1.

Day picked up the mount in the 1986 Shuvee Stakes when Jorge Velásquez chose to ride Badger Land (Codex) in the Preakness.

Lady’s Secret won the Shuvee as the favorite and was second in the Hempstead. In the Whitney, she broke from post two on a muddy track and led gate to wire, posting splits of 23 1/5, 46 3/5, and 1:10 4/5 before winning by 4 ½ lengths in front of 43,520 fans.

“I knew she was going to win,” said Day. “She took the lead and just galloped. It was a race in racehorse time, but I didn’t have to ask her for anything.”

Lady’s Secret is one of only six fillies to win the Whitney.

“You have to give Wayne and Jeff credit for running her against the males,” Day added. “They did it several times, and she responded. They had total confidence in her.”

That year, Lady’s Secret won four more Grade 1s, including the Breeders’ Cup Distaff, and was crowned Horse of the Year and Champion Older Female.

“I was lucky to ride her at the peak of her career,” said Day, who won seven times in 11 tries aboard her.

At five in 1987, she won two allowance races before retiring after a poor effort at Saratoga with Chris McCarron up.

Day, who won 8,803 races in his career, also recalled his relationship with Jeff Lukas, who didn’t hesitate to pull him off a mount if he felt a mistake was made.

One such case was the 1987 Shuvee, where Day rode North Sider (Topsider), but waited too long and lost by a neck to Ms. Eloise (Nasty and Bold).

“I messed up,” he admitted. “I didn’t know he didn’t have that final kick. When I felt her coming, it was too late.”

Jeff Lukas was furious and dropped him from all the stable’s mounts. “He fired me. I didn’t ride for them for almost a year.”

But as Stevens explained, in the Lukas world, you could come back. Day certainly did — winning two Preakness Stakes, a Belmont, and three more Breeders’ Cups for Lukas.

“Since I gave my life to Christ in 1984, I’ve learned to accept things with humility. They put you on, they take you off… it’s part of the business. I’m grateful for every chance Wayne, Jeff, and the Lukas team gave me.” “We lost a great friend. A true ambassador of the sport. I’m honored to have called him my friend and to have shared so many victories with him.”

Paul Halloran (NYRA)