G. R. "Rusty" Arnold II
Record at Keeneland
Career Firsts
Starters in the Toyota Blue Grass Stakes
Year |
Horse |
Finish |
2017 |
Wild Shot |
7th |
2016 |
Star Hill |
5th |
1992 |
Colony Light |
10th |
1989 |
Tricky Creek |
3rd |
1989 |
Feather Ridge |
4th |
1986 |
The Flats |
7th |
1982 |
Wavering Monarch |
3rd |
At Keeneland
Third-leading trainer by Keeneland wins (294) behind Bill Mott (302) and D. Wayne Lukas (296).
Leading trainer three times: Spring 1985, Spring 1986 and Fall 1987.
13 wins during the 1986 Spring Meet set a record for the season that lasted until Frank Brothers saddled 14 winners during the 1999 Spring Meet.
Two wins in Juddmonte Spinster (G1): Clear Mandate (1997) and Romantic Vision (2017).
Two wins in Central Bank Ashland (G1): Karlovy Vary (2012) and Weep No More (2016).
Other Grade 1 winners are Wicked Style (2007 Breeders’ Futurity), Karelian (2010 Maker’s Mark Mile) and Centre Court (2013 Jenny Wiley).
In 2020 won two stakes with Leinster: Shakertown (G2) during five-day Summer Meet and Woodford (G2) Presented by Keeneland Select during the Fall Meet.
Won the 2021 Rubicon Valley View (G3) with Navratilova during the Fall Meet.
Trained Divine Warning, who won seven races from 13 starts on Keeneland’s turf course, with two seconds, two thirds and two fourths. Divine Warning won at least one race during five consecutive Keeneland meets, from the spring of 1991 through the spring of 1993.
Career
North American career earnings of $82 million with 1,917 wins through Nov. 28, 2023.
Click here for his Equibase career record.
Background
Rusty represents the third generation of his family in the Central Kentucky Thoroughbred industry. His grandfather James Russell was the broodmare foreman at Elmendorf Farm. His father, the late George R. Arnold Sr., co-owned Fair Acres Farm; bred horses to race or sell; and trained at Keeneland. Rusty’s brother, Terry, manages Dixiana Farm.
While growing up, Rusty worked on the family farm on weekends and during summers. He began breaking yearlings and went to work for trainer Eugene Euster. While attending the University of Kentucky, he took pre-veterinary classes but the race track held more appeal for him. He galloped horses for Euster and became his assistant trainer. By 1975, he had gone out on his own.
Rusty went to New York in 1980 and received a break in 1985 when he was named to train a division of John Ed Anthony’s Loblolly Farm after Shug McGaughey left to train for the Phipps family. More recently, he has enjoyed success while training for G. Watts Humphrey Jr.
His wife, Sarah, a former exercise rider, works with him in their training operation. Her role includes escorting the horses to the track while riding the stable pony. They were married in 1996.