Two horses played the black stallion in this movie: Cass-Olé, who played the horse in the first movie; and El Mokhtar, a famous Egyptian Arab racer who was used in the racing scenes. El Mokhtar developed a severe case of horse colic. No modern veterinary facility was available in Morocco, making surgery impossible, and as a result, El Mokhtar was humanely destroyed on the set.
The three main Arab characters were played by white actors. Ferdy Mayne and Allen Garfield were Jewish, while Vincent Spano is an Italian-American.
Some critics felt the film's portrayal of Arabs was racist. Roger Ebert wrote, "The Arabs are portrayed in this movie as the usual greasy, obnoxious buffoons that have been so popular in the movies ever since the oil crisis; I guess the message is that it's OK to be racist, as long as your targets live far away and don't buy many movie tickets. The Arab villain is played by Allen Garfield, a good character actor who is so far off-base here it's pathetic."
The film was made in late 1981, four years after the first film was made in 1977. However it is set only one year later, meaning Alec Ramsey has gone from eleven to fifteen in only a year.