from the USTA Communications Department
Columbus, OH — Lloyd Arnold, 83, a longtime Standardbred owner and former racetrack operator, died Jan. 8, 2012, in La Quinta, Calif.
Mr. Arnold was born in Douds, Iowa, on January 5, 1929, to Charles Duff Arnold and Reva Hull Arnold. He married his high school sweetheart, Nancy Mae Hughes, of Eldon, Iowa. She died after a long battle with cancer in 1996. Mr. Arnold then married Sylvia Baboff. They were happily married for 15 years.
Originally the owner of Arnold Cattle Co. in Iowa, Mr. Arnold raced hundreds of horses in Illinois and across the Midwest throughout the 1960s and early 1970s.
USTA/Ed Keys photo
Lloyd Arnold
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, a track Mr. Arnold operated in Sacramento, Calif. Mr. Arnold, who also owned the great mare Tender Loving Care, bought and resurrected Los Alamitos in the late 1980s. He eventually sold the track to partner Edward Allred.
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.
Mr. Arnold enjoyed personal honors in 1978 when he was the winner of the 22nd annual Horseman Award. In 1980 he was inducted into the Illinois Harness Racing Hall of Fame. In 2001 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.
In addition to his second wife, Mr. Arnold is survived by his son, Doug (Mary), as well as their three children, Natalie Rose (Layton) Severeide, Nicole Mae (Grant) Belden and Charles Lloyd; and daughter, Cindy (Joe) Farruggio and their son, Matt Farruggio. In addition, Mr. Lloyd considered Sylvia’s family as his own and is survived by her daughters, Christine (George) Chrest, Carrie (Glen) Donahue and Charly (Steve) Linnes; grandchildren, Tiffani Arthur (Jim) Thiel, Jason (Elizabeth) Arthur, Sonny Arthur, Amanda Arthur (Mike) Edwards, Brittany Donahue, Brooke Donahue, Katlyn Donahue, Nichole Linnes, Ashley Linnes and Natalie Linnes; and great-grandchildren, Tyler Thiel, Zachary Thiel, Caden Thiel and Ryer Linnes. Mr. Arnold is also survived by his siblings, Marlene (Steve) Overturf and Donald (Donna). In addition to his first wife, he was preceded in death by his parents, and brother Glenn.
There will be a Celebration of Life Service on Thursday (January 12) at 1 p.m. at Forest Lawn Mortuary, 96855 Ramon Rd., Cathedral City, CA 92234 and a brunch following at Bermuda Dunes Country Club.
Memorial contributions may be made to the MS Society or to the Cancer Center at Scripps Clinic in La Jolla, Calif.
- California horsemen reflect on the life of Lloyd Arnold (Tuesday, January 10, 2012)
Cal Expo is sad to report the passing of Lloyd Arnold on Sunday.