Before his retirement on December 26 because of severe pain in his oft-damaged knees, Gary Lynn Stevens had packed a Racing Hall of Fame career into a mere 20 years. He rode with skill and intelligence, and his will to succeed earned him mounts on many of the nation's leading horses over the last 15 years.

Stevens was born to work around horses. His father, Ron, was a trainer, and Stevens began grooming horses at age eight. By 14, he was riding Quarter Horses and won his first race-on his first Thoroughbred mount, Little Star, trained by his father-at Les Bois Park in Boise, Idaho, in 1979.

After stints in Idaho and at Washington's Longacres Park, Stevens moved his tack to Southern California and quickly made a name for himself. By 1985, D. Wayne Lukas had given him his first classic mount, Tank's Prospect, in that year's Kentucky Derby (G1). Although Tank's Prospect won the Preakness Stakes (G1) under Pat Day, Lukas nonetheless returned to Stevens to ride Winning Colors for a victory in the 1988 Kentucky Derby.

In many ways, the 1990s represented a crowning achievement for Stevens. In 1993, he became the youngest jockey ever to win $100-million in purses. His fellow jockeys voted him the George Woolf Award in 1996, and he has served as president of the Jockeys' Guild. He was voted into the Racing Hall of Fame in 1997 and won an Eclipse Award as outstanding jockey in '98.

Through those years, he has ridden many of the best horses for top stables. He broke off a sojourn in Hong Kong in 1995 and returned to the United States in time to ride Thunder Gulch to victory in the Kentucky Derby for Lukas. Thunder Gulch, who also won the Belmont Stakes (G1), was voted that year's outstanding three-year-old male, and Stevens ended the year as the regular rider of the Eclipse Award-winning three-year-old filly, Serena's Song, for Lukas.

In 1997, he rode Silver Charm to victories in the Kentucky Derby and Preakness for owners Robert and Beverly Lewis and trainer Bob Baffert. Voted champion three-year-old male that year, Silver Charm returned in 1998 to win the Dubai World Cup (UAE-G1) under Stevens. The following year, Stevens denied Baffert a Triple Crown when he rode Victory Gallop to a nose victory over Real Quiet in the Belmont. Also in 1998, he was the regular rider of three-year-old filly champion Silverbulletday, also trained by Baffert.

Never afraid to try something new, Stevens departed the U.S. last spring to ride in England for Sir Michael Stoute. Although successful there, he returned to the U.S. to ride for The Thoroughbred Corp. and notched his seventh Breeders' Cup victory aboard Anees in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile (G1).

For now, at least, his riding days have ended, and Stevens is taking the first tentative steps into his future. He talked about his current activities and his life as a jockey with Steve Schuelein, a Thoroughbred Times Southern California correspondent, in mid-February.

Thoroughbred Times: How are you adjusting to your new role?

Gary Stevens: "I'm adjusting very well now and am very excited about the future. The first three weeks of retirement were very difficult. It was a big transition for me. I was in a bit of shock during that time. It was almost like reading about someone else who retired. I guess mentally I hadn't accepted that I had ridden my last race. My wife, Nikki, and I spent quite a bit of time then with my mom and dad and brother Scott in Phoenix. I got a lot of comfort out of that."

TT: What are your duties as assistant trainer for The Thoroughbred Corp.?

Stevens: "I'm assistant trainer to Alex Hassinger (at Santa Anita Park). My duties right now are to learn what I had forgotten as to being on the ground. Being on the ground versus being on a horse's back are two different things. I'm seeing things I haven't seen for 20 years. I get there every morning at 4:50. Alex and I go through every horse in the stable and then proceed with the first set. We don't check them together. Alex is usually in front, and I go in the stall after. When we get to the end, we assess every horse. I'm going through a bit of a testing period. "Beyond just working as an assistant, I keep close touch with the rest of the (Thoroughbred Corp.) horses we have with (Jeff) Bonde, (Richard) Mandella, and Baffert. I was in Florida on February 12 when Royal Anthem won (the $200,000 Gulfstream Park Breeders' Cup Handicap [G1]). I had ridden Royal Anthem and felt I was very beneficial to Jerry (jockey Jerry Bailey). I just wanted to give Jerry a lot of confidence, to let him know he was sitting on something special. Speaking with another jockey in jockeys' terms didn't take a lot of conversation."

TT: What have you learned?

Stevens: "I knew going in the hours trainers, assistants, and grooms put in-24 hours a day, seven days a week. I feel like I've been on vacation 21 years and just going to work. It confirmed my worst fears."

TT: Will you be undertaking any television broadcasting assignments?

Stevens: "No. I decided to devote 100% of my time to The Thoroughbred Corp. I was approached about the Triple Crown races and doing some work for ESPN-TV. I felt both jobs were going take 100% commitments. I'm not going to be able to climb on a plane and be away three or four days and miss even a day of training. I hope I'm in the paddock standing next to Anees on the first Saturday in May. My commitment is with him right now."

TT: How is Anees doing?

Stevens: "He's put on about 90 pounds of pure muscle since the Breeders' Cup. We had to slow down with him because of a bruised foot, but in the last few weeks he has become very much more focused. Mentally, he has matured a lot and become a little more aggressive. A lot of rain in February was making it tougher on Alex to train him, but with a break in the weather it looks reasonable that he could race twice before the Kentucky Derby."

TT: Will you remain president of the Jockeys' Guild?

Stevens: "If I stay as assistant trainer, I didn't feel it was in the best interests of the Jockeys' Guild to continue on as president. According to my last conversation with John Giovanni (Guild national manager), there will be an executive board meeting in mid-March to replace me as president because of a potential conflict of interest. I may remain in an advisory capacity but will not be on the executive board."

TT: You briefly became a jockey's agent. Tell us about that experience.

Stevens: "I lasted for two days. With the confusion I was going through accepting retirement and with advice from so many people, I was reaching out for something to occupy my time and give me some satisfaction. I jumped the gun a little bit. I watched Luis Jauregui grow up and thought I could help him. "I also took the book of Royston Ffrench, an English jockey who works horses here for The Thoroughbred Corp. Within 24 hours, the prince (The Thoroughbred Corp. owner Ahmed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia) called and said he was alarmed about my keeping priorities with The Thoroughbred Corp. After a lengthy conversation with the prince and my wife, it was not a difficult decision. I needed to be more hands-on with the horses."

TT: What are your present thoughts about ever coming out of retirement to ride again?

Stevens: "It was pretty much written off when I saw another specialist at an appointment arranged by the prince at Cornell University (February 8). Dr. Barton Nisonson confirmed what Dr. James Tibone told me in December: that I had no future as a jockey. He confirmed the X rays and radiographs of the knee from the last surgery. "It was the first time I've had a doctor just sit me down for 45 minutes. It was more of a psyche session than anything else. Looking at the knee only took about two minutes. The doctor dealt with