A past president of the FTBOA, George Russell was born and raised in South Florida and currently resides with his wife Karen on their Rustlewood Farm in Reddick, Fla.
After visiting Marion County in 1987, the Russells were impressed by the area’s beauty, the slower-paced lifestyle and the beautifully manicured horse farms. They soon purchased 158 acres on Hwy. 225A and established Rustlewood Farm.
Their initial purchase of four yearling fillies from neighbor Elmer Heubeck yielded Rustlewood’s first stakes winner, All Considered, who took the 1989 I Guarantee It Stakes at Gulfstream Park. By Peace Rules, All Considered would also produce eight winners from 12 starters including Consider Thesourse, by Notebook, winner of the 2005 Florida Stallion Stakes My Dear Girl at Calder Race Course.
Rustlewood has also bred, raised and/or raced stakes-horses All Milady, All in the Book, Blue Pepsi Lodge, Inside Affair as well as multiple Grade 1-winner Chaposa Springs. Other graded-stakes winners include Grade 1-winner You and I, Group 2-winners Distinctly North, El Kabeir, Mach Ride and Pappacap; Grade 3-winners Boppy O and Prudhoe Bay; and multiple graded stakes-placed Pat N Jack.
Russell is the founder and current president of Russell Engineering, Inc. and is a past chairman of the board of the Florida Transportation Builders’ Association. He also currently serves on the Ocala Thoroughbred Racing Association’s board.
Russell has been instrumental in the FTBOA’s legislative role, governance and racing program development, is past chair of the charity/social committee and a strong advocate of Florida Thoroughbred Charities.
