This Saturday’s Lloyd Arnold Pace at Cal Expo is named for the famed horse owner and track operator of the highest calibre.

Arnold passed away in 2012 at the age of 83. Originally the owner of Arnold Cattle Co. in Iowa, Arnold raced hundreds of horses in Illinois and across the Midwest throughout the 1960s and early 1970s.

During that era, 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 Arnold to racing’s pinnacle for the first time when he set the all-age world record at over Cal Expo, then known as Golden Bear Raceway.

His top horses in later 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, Arnold bought Chevie Duramax, who then went on to set world records for two-year-old pacing geldings on both mile and half-mile tracks. The fastest three-year-old pacer in North America in 2004 belonged to Arnold, as Quik Pulse Mindale won in 1:48 at Balmoral.

In addition to being a prominent Standardbred owner, Arnold operated this track during those Golden Bear Raceway years and also bought Los Alamitos in the late 1980s, eventually selling the track to his partner, Ed Allred.

Arnold was inducted into the California Harness Hall of Fame in April of 2008. He also enjoyed personal honours in 2001 when he was feted by the Delaware Sportswriters and Broadcasters at their annual awards dinner and received the Owner of the Year Award from the U.S. Harness Writers' Association.

Chris Bardis said, “Harness Racing was one of Lloyd's great passions. He accomplished so much for the sport not only in California, but nationwide. He was Mr. Harness Racing.

“He conducted race meetings at Cal Expo, Bay Meadows, Golden Gate Fields, Del Mar, Pomona, Hollywood Park and Los Alamitos. I know of no one else who has had a greater impact on the harness world.”

Barbarian Headlines Lloyd Arnold Pace

Barbarian, who has captured five of the last six top dances at Cal Expo, heads the cast for Saturday night’s featured $10,000 Lloyd Arnold Pace.

There will be 11 races presented under the banner of Watch and Wager LLC, and the card will get underway at 6:15 p.m. There will also be a pair of California Sire Stakes for three-year-old pacers decided before the regular program.

Barbarian is a six-year-old son of Somebeachsomewhere out of the Western Ideal mare Righteous Renee who races for owner Robert Orr, takes his lessons from Sparky Clarke, and will once again be guided by Luke Plano from the cozy rail slot in the field of seven.

He had a four-race winning streak snapped by Im An Athlete two races ago, carving out all the fractions in that affair before being collared right on the money. He was very game in his previous four scores, including one from the demanding Post 10, which put his class and versatility on display in the process.

Barbarian returned to his winning ways in last week’s Open, as he sat back early and then exploded when asked in the stretch to be up by three-quarters of a length over Jazzmanian Devil in a sharp 1:52.1 tour, which is three ticks off his lifetime standard.

Im An Athlete is a seven-year-old son of Art Major out of the Cams Card Shark mare Female Champs who is owned by Ronald Rettig-Zucchi, is trained by Lino Pacheco, and will have the services of James Kennedy. He upset Barbarian two races ago in a strong performance over a track labelled ‘good.’

Rounding out the field for the Arnold are Bettors Promise with Tony Succarotte; Allymxsliventexas, Mooney Svendsen; Anderlecht, who gives the Clarke barn two looks at the outcome; Jazzmanian Devil with Steve Wiseman; and the second Pacheco trainee in Pancetta, who will do his work from the outside post.

(Cal Expo)