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04 Jul 24
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18 Feb 02
'The buzz of the ring was huge' - meet the former bookie now intent on his plan to save racing
Chris Cook meets Aidan Butler, brought up in the betting rings of Britain but now the boss at 1/ST Racing in the US
author image
Chris Cook
Racing Writer of the Year
Aidan Butler was the coolest cat at Royal Ascot last month
Aidan Butler was the coolest cat at Royal Ascot last month
Credit: Edward Whitaker
The coolest cat at Royal Ascot was a former bookie from the Midlands who has reinvented himself as a highflying racecourse executive in the US. The lanky frame of Aidan Butler was easily picked out as he strolled through the boisterous crowds, his usual Stetson replaced by a top hat, although even in a waistcoat and tails he still managed to appear more raffish than formal.
Those racing folk familiar with Butler's name all seem to know that he was once married to the supermodel Jodie Kidd. Relatively few are aware that his second, more durable marriage was also covered in glossy magazines, to a fashion journalist whose Instagram feed shows she was also wholly in her element at the royal meeting.
A breathless report of their nuptials began: "On New Year's Eve, one ambitious couple and 101 international guests met in the middle of the North Atlantic for an epic party..." So it can safely be said that Butler is familiar with the world of glamour and there is really nothing, by this stage, that is going to faze or intimidate him.
"This is like coming home," he says in his Tom Waits growl, wandering among the clouds of tulle and taffeta that tell you it's Ladies Day. "Although I was never allowed to wear a topper back in those days. I had a pair of white gloves on."
Butler is remembering his time as a tic-tac man, back when he was one of many using a now almost forgotten sign language to communicate odds across the packed betting ring. Forgotten, that is, except by those who used it.
"I still know the weird ones, the 85-40s and the 95-40s, the ones that never really got used. As a kid, you would practise it at the dinner table. I still know how to order a bag of Walkers and two bottles of pop."
Pleasingly, this involves flicking the inside of his mouth to make a 'pop' noise. One of the green-coated security guards turns to look in our direction.
Butler was a third-generation bookie, son of the late Don Butler, who wrote as Cubone in the early days of the Betfair forum. "I started working for my dad at quite a young age. We had 32 pitches up and down the UK." He mentions Cartmel, Newton Abbot, Yarmouth, as well as many that were closer at hand, like Nottingham, Stratford and Warwick.
It sounds like Butler misses those days when seven racecourses were within an hour's drive of home. He is now president of 1/ST Racing, previously known as the Stronach Group, and is based at Santa Anita in California but is also running Gulfstream Park in Florida, almost 3,000 miles to the east, as well as Pimlico in Baltimore, home of the Preakness Stakes, which is 1,000 miles north of that.
So his beat is now somewhat more upscale. Still, the enthusiasm with which he talks about the old days makes it seem like he would gleefully take a pitch and start chalking up odds, given half a chance.
The Butlers were usually in the middle of the back row in Tatts: "Not great but back then it was okay." This was in the pre-exchange era when bookmakers were at the heart of the racecourse experience.
"It's such a shame, what's happened to the betting rings. For people in the Royal Enclosure through to people who'd come for a day out, the buzz of the ring used to be part of the day."
Like the rest of us, Butler doesn't want to imagine the whole sport going the way of the betting ring. A range of actions is going to be necessary to ensure the future success of racing but Butler sees a deal of possibility in promoting transatlantic competition, going beyond the established Wesley Ward raiders at Ascot and the regular Charlie Appleby runners in the US.
With that in mind, 1/ST Racing is pursuing partnerships with other tracks and racecourse operators around the world. "You send us one of your runners, we'll send you one of ours," is Butler's broad summary.
Crimson Advocate wins the Queen Mary Stakes on day two of Royal Ascot
Crimson Advocate wins the Queen Mary Stakes on day two of Royal Ascot last year
Credit: Alan Crowhurst
It started last year with the creation of a couple of valuable two-year-old races at Gulfstream in May which guaranteed the winners a place in one of Royal Ascot's juvenile races and provided $25,000 towards travel costs. Crimson Advocate made all in first-time blinkers to win the fillies' race in Florida, which failed to fire the imagination of the betting public when she turned up for the Queen Mary the following month. Sent off at 9-1, she surged into a clear lead at the furlong pole before running out of petrol in the last 100 yards. With Johnny Velazquez driving away in the saddle, she clung on by a nose.
What a way to start your new initiative, providing not just a significant runner at the most glamorous of international race meetings but a Group 2 winner. It was a success with a long tail, since Crimson Advocate was then sold to Wathnan Racing and returned to Ascot this year, this time representing the Gosden stable.
Butler's Gulfstream qualifiers very nearly came up trumps again last month. Gabaldon, a winner in Florida on his debut, was also unfancied at 16-1 for the Windsor Castle but emulated Crimson Advocate in storming up the stands' rail. Alas, he was run down close home by Ain't Nobody. It was hopefully a thrillingly close brush with glory for another set of US connections.
"At the furlong pole, I thought we had it," Butler reflects, but his ruefulness contains a large measure of delight at the success of his idea.
"I love showcasing some of our racing over here. You wouldn't necessarily think that Gulfstream would have good enough horses to be able to compete. Those horses aren't the day-to-day Gulfstream horses but because we've got something that leads to a bigger event, people are sending good horses and it's really worked."
Ain't Nobody (Jamie Spencer) beats Gabaldon in the Windsor Castle Stakes
Ain't Nobody (Jamie Spencer) beats Gabaldon in the Windsor Castle Stakes
Credit: Edward Whitaker (racingpost.com/photos)
Butler plans a lot of expansion to this successful start. His team have been working with the Jockey Club, Goodwood, France Galop and others.
"It just dawned on me that there was a real opportunity to add storylines. There are a lot of complaints about how people don't promote the game, they don't market it well. I'll take some of those criticisms, even though I could point fingers elsewhere. But it's so nice to add energy from different places. And the world gets smaller by the day.
"I think in some small way, this may add a little bit of excitement back."
With his experience of charming people on both sides of the Atlantic, Butler could be the ideal person to promote increased GB-US rivalry at the races. He is proud of Ascot as a venue, defensive about the ability of American turf horses. He describes himself as "somewhere in the middle, trying to direct traffic, trying to get some runners back and forth".
"I think it's a neat project and a little bit overdue," he adds. "We've just been running around with the same group of horses, country by country, and waiting for an event like the Breeders' Cup.
"Getting international runners over, not only is it great for field size and more competitive wagering but it's just a real good story, us versus them, different breeding stock, different training styles. It really adds to the fun of what we do.
"Every other sport in the world has really gone international. It's kind of boring if it's the same people every day. That competitive rivalry between countries is brilliant."
Those charged with promoting British racing will be wistful on learning that Butler is very much enjoying having Frankie Dettori based at Santa Anita, where the jockey continues to be a one-man PR machine for the game.
Frankie Dettori on day one of Royal Ascot 2024
Frankie Dettori was back at Royal Ascot this year, albeit not as a jockey
Credit: Edward Whitaker
"He's riding amazing, as good as ever," Butler reports.
"We all know how talented he is. But his personality is something that a lot of the Americans haven't seen. He's an absolute barrel of laughs, he brings with him an energy, excitement, he's great on camera, he's great for the game, he always has been. If I can keep him going as long as I can over there, I will do."
Then, some faux outrage, delivered cheerfully: "Everyone else has started nicking him now. He's going to Keeneland, Saratoga. I'm like, hang on a minute, what's the deal here?"
The chance of a quiet life based at a single track in California was said to be a large part of the appeal to Dettori in relocating to the US. Does he really want to be pinging about from the west coast to the east and back?
Butler explains: "Even at Saratoga, you're there for weeks, you get the nice apartment, your wife's there. It is a little easier – and we really spoil him.
"I've known him a long time, so anything he ever needs, we make sure he gets it. He's not in the back of a car, having to rush from one race-meet to another. He needs a bit of pampering at his age. If anyone's earned it, he has."
Chris Cook meets Aidan Butler, brought up in the betting rings of Britain but now the boss at 1/ST Racing in the US
author image
Chris Cook
Racing Writer of the Year
Aidan Butler was the coolest cat at Royal Ascot last month
Aidan Butler was the coolest cat at Royal Ascot last month
Credit: Edward Whitaker
The coolest cat at Royal Ascot was a former bookie from the Midlands who has reinvented himself as a highflying racecourse executive in the US. The lanky frame of Aidan Butler was easily picked out as he strolled through the boisterous crowds, his usual Stetson replaced by a top hat, although even in a waistcoat and tails he still managed to appear more raffish than formal.
Those racing folk familiar with Butler's name all seem to know that he was once married to the supermodel Jodie Kidd. Relatively few are aware that his second, more durable marriage was also covered in glossy magazines, to a fashion journalist whose Instagram feed shows she was also wholly in her element at the royal meeting.
A breathless report of their nuptials began: "On New Year's Eve, one ambitious couple and 101 international guests met in the middle of the North Atlantic for an epic party..." So it can safely be said that Butler is familiar with the world of glamour and there is really nothing, by this stage, that is going to faze or intimidate him.
"This is like coming home," he says in his Tom Waits growl, wandering among the clouds of tulle and taffeta that tell you it's Ladies Day. "Although I was never allowed to wear a topper back in those days. I had a pair of white gloves on."
Butler is remembering his time as a tic-tac man, back when he was one of many using a now almost forgotten sign language to communicate odds across the packed betting ring. Forgotten, that is, except by those who used it.
"I still know the weird ones, the 85-40s and the 95-40s, the ones that never really got used. As a kid, you would practise it at the dinner table. I still know how to order a bag of Walkers and two bottles of pop."
Pleasingly, this involves flicking the inside of his mouth to make a 'pop' noise. One of the green-coated security guards turns to look in our direction.
Butler was a third-generation bookie, son of the late Don Butler, who wrote as Cubone in the early days of the Betfair forum. "I started working for my dad at quite a young age. We had 32 pitches up and down the UK." He mentions Cartmel, Newton Abbot, Yarmouth, as well as many that were closer at hand, like Nottingham, Stratford and Warwick.
It sounds like Butler misses those days when seven racecourses were within an hour's drive of home. He is now president of 1/ST Racing, previously known as the Stronach Group, and is based at Santa Anita in California but is also running Gulfstream Park in Florida, almost 3,000 miles to the east, as well as Pimlico in Baltimore, home of the Preakness Stakes, which is 1,000 miles north of that.
So his beat is now somewhat more upscale. Still, the enthusiasm with which he talks about the old days makes it seem like he would gleefully take a pitch and start chalking up odds, given half a chance.
The Butlers were usually in the middle of the back row in Tatts: "Not great but back then it was okay." This was in the pre-exchange era when bookmakers were at the heart of the racecourse experience.
"It's such a shame, what's happened to the betting rings. For people in the Royal Enclosure through to people who'd come for a day out, the buzz of the ring used to be part of the day."
Like the rest of us, Butler doesn't want to imagine the whole sport going the way of the betting ring. A range of actions is going to be necessary to ensure the future success of racing but Butler sees a deal of possibility in promoting transatlantic competition, going beyond the established Wesley Ward raiders at Ascot and the regular Charlie Appleby runners in the US.
With that in mind, 1/ST Racing is pursuing partnerships with other tracks and racecourse operators around the world. "You send us one of your runners, we'll send you one of ours," is Butler's broad summary.
Crimson Advocate wins the Queen Mary Stakes on day two of Royal Ascot
Crimson Advocate wins the Queen Mary Stakes on day two of Royal Ascot last year
Credit: Alan Crowhurst
It started last year with the creation of a couple of valuable two-year-old races at Gulfstream in May which guaranteed the winners a place in one of Royal Ascot's juvenile races and provided $25,000 towards travel costs. Crimson Advocate made all in first-time blinkers to win the fillies' race in Florida, which failed to fire the imagination of the betting public when she turned up for the Queen Mary the following month. Sent off at 9-1, she surged into a clear lead at the furlong pole before running out of petrol in the last 100 yards. With Johnny Velazquez driving away in the saddle, she clung on by a nose.
What a way to start your new initiative, providing not just a significant runner at the most glamorous of international race meetings but a Group 2 winner. It was a success with a long tail, since Crimson Advocate was then sold to Wathnan Racing and returned to Ascot this year, this time representing the Gosden stable.
Butler's Gulfstream qualifiers very nearly came up trumps again last month. Gabaldon, a winner in Florida on his debut, was also unfancied at 16-1 for the Windsor Castle but emulated Crimson Advocate in storming up the stands' rail. Alas, he was run down close home by Ain't Nobody. It was hopefully a thrillingly close brush with glory for another set of US connections.
"At the furlong pole, I thought we had it," Butler reflects, but his ruefulness contains a large measure of delight at the success of his idea.
"I love showcasing some of our racing over here. You wouldn't necessarily think that Gulfstream would have good enough horses to be able to compete. Those horses aren't the day-to-day Gulfstream horses but because we've got something that leads to a bigger event, people are sending good horses and it's really worked."
Ain't Nobody (Jamie Spencer) beats Gabaldon in the Windsor Castle Stakes
Ain't Nobody (Jamie Spencer) beats Gabaldon in the Windsor Castle Stakes
Credit: Edward Whitaker (racingpost.com/photos)
Butler plans a lot of expansion to this successful start. His team have been working with the Jockey Club, Goodwood, France Galop and others.
"It just dawned on me that there was a real opportunity to add storylines. There are a lot of complaints about how people don't promote the game, they don't market it well. I'll take some of those criticisms, even though I could point fingers elsewhere. But it's so nice to add energy from different places. And the world gets smaller by the day.
"I think in some small way, this may add a little bit of excitement back."
With his experience of charming people on both sides of the Atlantic, Butler could be the ideal person to promote increased GB-US rivalry at the races. He is proud of Ascot as a venue, defensive about the ability of American turf horses. He describes himself as "somewhere in the middle, trying to direct traffic, trying to get some runners back and forth".
"I think it's a neat project and a little bit overdue," he adds. "We've just been running around with the same group of horses, country by country, and waiting for an event like the Breeders' Cup.
"Getting international runners over, not only is it great for field size and more competitive wagering but it's just a real good story, us versus them, different breeding stock, different training styles. It really adds to the fun of what we do.
"Every other sport in the world has really gone international. It's kind of boring if it's the same people every day. That competitive rivalry between countries is brilliant."
Those charged with promoting British racing will be wistful on learning that Butler is very much enjoying having Frankie Dettori based at Santa Anita, where the jockey continues to be a one-man PR machine for the game.
Frankie Dettori on day one of Royal Ascot 2024
Frankie Dettori was back at Royal Ascot this year, albeit not as a jockey
Credit: Edward Whitaker
"He's riding amazing, as good as ever," Butler reports.
"We all know how talented he is. But his personality is something that a lot of the Americans haven't seen. He's an absolute barrel of laughs, he brings with him an energy, excitement, he's great on camera, he's great for the game, he always has been. If I can keep him going as long as I can over there, I will do."
Then, some faux outrage, delivered cheerfully: "Everyone else has started nicking him now. He's going to Keeneland, Saratoga. I'm like, hang on a minute, what's the deal here?"
The chance of a quiet life based at a single track in California was said to be a large part of the appeal to Dettori in relocating to the US. Does he really want to be pinging about from the west coast to the east and back?
Butler explains: "Even at Saratoga, you're there for weeks, you get the nice apartment, your wife's there. It is a little easier – and we really spoil him.
"I've known him a long time, so anything he ever needs, we make sure he gets it. He's not in the back of a car, having to rush from one race-meet to another. He needs a bit of pampering at his age. If anyone's earned it, he has."
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