Lloyd Arnold Passes at 82

Lloyd Arnold Passes at 82
Tuesday, January 10, 2012 - by Mark Ratzky, Publicity -- Cal Expo

Cal Expo is sad to report the passing of Lloyd Arnold on Sunday. He was 82.

In addition to being a prominent standardbred owner, Mr. Arnold operated the former Golden Bear Raceway in Sacramento and also bought Los Alamitos in the late 1980s, eventually selling the track to his partner Edward Allred.

Originally the owner of Arnold Cattle Co. in Iowa, Mr. Arnold raced hundreds of horses in Illinois and across the Midwest.

During that era, Mr. Arnold raced horses like Warm Breeze, who earned more than $250,000 in two seasons of racing in the mid-1970s, and Dancing David, who earned more than $200,000 in the 1960s. Warm Breeze took Mr. Arnold to racing’s pinnacle for the first time when he set the all-age world record at Golden Bear Raceway.

In 1983, Mr. Arnold was the successful bidder on the most expensive Standardbred yearling ever sold up to that time, the $625,000 pacing filly Laugh A Day.

His top horses in recent years included the pacing mare Sanabelle Island, who earned $1.6 million lifetime and won 57 of 110 starts. Also of note was Bagel Beach Boy, who won the 2001 Messenger and Matron stakes. In August 2003, Mr. Arnold bought Chevie Duramax, who then went on to set world records for 2-year-old pacing geldings on both mile and half-mile tracks. The fastest 3-year-old pacer in North America in 2004 belonged to Mr. Arnold as Quik Pulse Mindale won in 1:48 at Balmoral. Quik Pulse Mindale was victorious in 12 of 19 starts, including the Provincial Cup, American-National and Motor City Pace, while earning $702,225. An interesting couple of side notes to the 1:48 win at Balmoral include the fact that Quik Pulse Mindale reached the three-quarters that night in 1:19, the fastest “race-mile” three-quarters ever (later that year equaled at The Meadowland). Additionally, that race-call, as it turns out, had local interest, as the voice of that race was the then Balmoral announcer, now Cal Expo announcer, Scott Ehrlich.

Mr. Arnold enjoyed personal honors in 2001 when he was feted by the Delaware Sportswriters and Broadcasters at their annual awards dinner and also received the Owner of the Year Award from the U.S. Harness Writers’ Association.

Trainer Bob Johnson said, "I knew Lloyd for many years. When I started out grooming, I was working for Bob Farrington, and he was Bob's main owner.

"He must have owned 40 or so when he ran Golden Bear and Los Alamitos. I remember
when they needed horses to race at Sacramento, Bobby Gordon asked him if he could help and he went to Illinois and brought a dozen out here for different trainers.

"He was always trying to do good for the game in California, trying to keep it going. He was great for racing, got new people involved had lots of innovative ideas."

Rick Kuebler summed things up nicely when reflecting on Lloyd Arnold's life in harness racing.

"Lloyd had a smile which made you feel like you'd been friends forever. He blurred the line between horsemen and management, having worn both hats with unequaled success. His passion for harness racing never broke stride. He trotted the whole mile."

Live racing resumes at Cal Expo on Thursday (January 12) at 5:30 p.m. (PST) and continues on Friday (January 13) & Saturday (January 14) at 6:00 p.m. On Thursday and every live card, Cal Expo offers free admission, as well as free preferred & general parking after 4:30 p.m.

Cal Expo now offers a reduced 15 percent takeout rate on all Pick 4’s (Thursday/Friday nights in partnership with the USTA Strategic Wagering Committee). In addition, all Late Pick 4’s will come with a $10,000-guaranteed pool. On Saturday nights, there will be a 0% takeout on successful Late Pick 4 tickets made at Cal Expo or at Twinspires.com.