A descendant of Nearco, he was bred at the famed Calumet Farm in Lexington, Kentucky and owned in partnership with Jurgen K. Arnemann.
There, racing on grass, Criminal Type was a winner at age two, but after a poor three-year-old season he was brought back to the United States and turned over to trainer D. Wayne Lukas.
Outstanding Sprint Horse Housebuster, and winner of the Eclipse Award for Outstanding 2-Year-Old Male Horse and Hall of Famer, 1989 Belmont Stakes winner Easy Goer; however, Criminal Type carried seven pounds less than Easy Goer, and five pounds less than Sunday Silence, in their respective match-ups.
Other quality horses vanquished by Criminal Type include Opening Verse, Lively One, Ruhlmann, and Flying Continental.
A Federal judge in the Houston Division of Texas found Calumet and its President not responsible for the payment of the insurance pay-out on Alydar.