Arnold Wins 2,000th Race

Jeff Kerber's 3-year-old homebred colt Unsearchable, making his second career start, came with a steady run through the stretch and edged clear of Triple Crown-nominated Final Story late to give trainer George "Rusty" Arnold II his 2,000th career victory March 14 at Gulfstream Park. Ridden by jockey Jorge Ruiz, also up for Unsearchable's Feb. 7 unveiling at Gulfstream, the son of Not This Time ($5.80) ran 7 furlongs on a fast main track in 1:22.97 to win the maiden special weight for 3-year-olds by a half-length. Unsearchable was the lone starter of the day, 26th of the Championship Meet and third winner for Arnold, who turns 71 March 26. He picked up win No. 1,999 with 3-year-old filly To a Flame March 7 at Gulfstream. "We've stood the test of time. It's been a long haul and then the last month it got really slow. It's great. It's very exciting that I got there," Arnold said. "Good horses keep you going. They make you wake up a little more excited. This is one of them, I think." A native of Paris, Ky., Arnold celebrated the milestone victory in the winner's circle with his wife, Sarah, a former exercise rider who has been his long-time assistant. "She's the backbone of the operation. She's been there for them all, just about," Arnold said. "I've had a bunch of really, really good assistants and been very, very lucky. Good owners, good assistants and a great wife that oversees it all and steadies me when I need steadying." Arnold has banked nearly $92.4 million in purse earnings from 13,623 starters since going out on his own in 1975. He has reached seven figures in purses earned in 40 of the last 41 years, reaching a career high of $5,603,177 in 2025. "Fortunately for us, it got really good now. A lot of it doesn't happen when you're my age," he said. "It kind of tips off the hill, and the last three years have been the best three years we've ever had. It kind of keeps you going." A third-generation horseman, Arnold's father co-owned Fair Acres Farm where he bred horses to race and sell. Arnold's brother, Terry, works at WinStar Farm. Growing up, Arnold worked on the family farm during weekends and summers. He galloped for trainer Eugene Euster while taking pre-veterinary courses at the University of Kentucky, working his way up to assistant trainer before going out on his own. In 1985, Arnold was named to train a division of John Ed Anthony's Loblolly Stable replacing eventual Hall of Famer Shug McGaughey. In recent years, he has had success training for owner G. Watts Humphrey Jr. Arnold earned the first of his 108 graded stakes victories with The Wheel Turns in the 1982 Barbara Fritchie Handicap (G2) at Bowie Race Course in Maryland. Later that year, Wavering Monarch gave him his first grade 1 win in the Haskell Invitational Handicap (G1) at Monmouth Park. Other grade 1 success for Arnold have come in the 2025 and 2001 Test Stakes (G1), 2019 Belmont Oaks Invitational Stakes (G1T), 2017 and 1997 Spinster Stakes (G1), 2016 and 2012 Ashland Stakes (G1), 2013 Jenny Wiley Stakes (G1T), 2010 Mile Stakes (G1T), 2007 Breeders' Futurity (G1), 1996 Shuvee Handicap (G1), 1993 Nassau County Handicap (G1), 1990 Top Flight Handicap (G1), 1989 Demoiselle Stakes (G1), 1988 Futurity Stakes (G1), and 1986 Brooklyn Handicap (G1). Arnold has trained seven millionaires, led by two-time graded-stakes winner Gear Jockey ($1.6 million). Last fall, he became the all-time leading trainer at Keeneland with his 309th victory, one more than Hall of Famer Bill Mott. "Becoming the all-time leading trainer at Keeneland was big for me. I grew up there," Arnold said. "You always think about the first graded stake you won. There's a lot of things to sit back and reflect on. Fifty-one years I've been lucky enough to do this. To come to work and do this job for 51 years, it doesn't happen much."