Butler Rides 2,000th Winner at Tampa Bay

Two weeks after graduating from Saratoga Central Catholic High School in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. in 1990, jockey Dean Butler drove across the country by himself to work for Jack Van Berg, trainer of the legendary Alysheba.

"I had started taking Dean to the racetrack when he was 5, and he always wound up in the jockeys' room," recalled his father, John "Ted" Butler. "He told me from the beginning he was going to be a jockey."

More than a quarter-century after that cross-country trip, the elder Butler struggled to keep his emotions in check after watching his 45-year-old son earn career victory No. 2,000 in the fifth race April 22 at Tampa Bay Downs aboard Impromptu, a 4-year-old gelding owned by Empire Racing and trained by Bernell Rhone.

"I'm thrilled to death," said Ted Butler, who was joined at Tampa Bay Downs by another son, Dan, one of Dean's seven older siblings. "It's not very often you can have an 87-year-old father watch his son get on a horse and reach 2,000 wins."

The jockey followed up that triumph by winning the sixth race on Palace Barista for breeder-owner Lynne Scace and trainer Ray Stifano.

Dean Butler—who has won four riding titles at both Philadelphia Park (now Parx Racing) and Canterbury Park, and one at Atlantic City Race Course—admitted he was thinking of the milestone as he drove Impromptu to the finish in the mile turf event for $12,500-$10,000 claimers. He shared a heartfelt embrace with his father after the race and was joined in the winner's-circle celebration by his fellow jockeys and track management.

"The main thing is, I just wanted to do it while my dad was here today," Butler said. "He has been one of my biggest fans, and that makes it very special to me."

The three Butler men all experienced strong emotions thinking about Dean's late mother, Ellen, who died four years ago.

"We had a few tears in our eyes," Ted Butler said. "She didn't like to watch the races a whole lot and didn't care too much when he fell, but she was the best woman in the world. She was so good to all our children."

"She used to watch the races after they were run," the rider recalled. "Early in my career, it seemed like every time my parents showed up, I'd get beat. Then one day at the Meadowlands, they didn't let me know they were coming, and they got there just as I was coming down the lane and crossing the wire."

Butler is seventh in the Tampa Bay Downs 2015-16 standings with 30 victories. His next stop is at Canterbury in Shakopee, Minn.