Frank Joseph Arthur Butters (1878–1957) was a

racehorse Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its basic pr ...

trainer specialising in

flat racing Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its basic p ...

who trained in

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

and

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

in the first half of the 20th century. He trained for two of the most successful owner-breeders in British racing at the time,

Lord Derby Edward George Geoffrey Smith-Stanley, 14th Earl of Derby, (29 March 1799 – 23 October 1869, known before 1834 as Edward Stanley, and from 1834 to 1851 as Lord Stanley) was a British statesman, three-time Prime Minister of the United Kingdom ...

and HH Aga Khan III, and was

British flat racing Champion Trainer The Champion Trainer of flat racing in Great Britain is the trainer whose horses have won the most prize money during a season. The list below shows the Champion Trainer for each year since 1896. The Championship was originally run from November ...

on eight occasions. Frank Butters was born in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

, Austria, in 1878 while his father Joseph Butters was training racehorses there. He was educated in Britain but returned to Austria as an assistant to his father. He was

interned Internment is the imprisonment of people, commonly in large groups, without charges or intent to file charges. The term is especially used for the confinement "of enemy citizens in wartime or of terrorism suspects". Thus, while it can simply ...

in Austria during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

and trained in Italy after the war. In 1926 he returned to Britain to start a four-year contract as Lord Derby's trainer at Stanley House stables in Newmarket in succession to

George Lambton George Lambton (23 December 1860 – 23 July 1945) was a British thoroughbred racehorse trainer. He was British flat racing Champion Trainer in the 1906, 1911 and 1912 seasons. Early life The Honourable George Lambton was born in London on ...

. He trained a number of

Classic A classic is an outstanding example of a particular style; something of lasting worth or with a timeless quality; of the first or highest quality, class, or rank – something that exemplifies its class. The word can be an adjective (a ''c ...

winners for the Earl and also trained for other owners, winning The Oaks in 1927 for the Earl of Durham. In 1930 Lord Derby terminated Butters' employment but he set up as a public trainer and when the Aga Khan split with Dick Dawson, Butters took over as his trainer. He trained for the Aga Khan until forced to retire after a serious bicycle accident in 1949. In that period he trained nine Classic winners for the Aga Khan including Mahmoud, who won the 1936

Epsom Derby The Derby Stakes, also known as the Epsom Derby or the Derby, and as the Cazoo Derby for sponsorship reasons, is a Group 1 flat horse race in England open to three-year-old colts and fillies. It is run at Epsom Downs Racecourse in Surrey o ...

in a then-record time, and the unbeaten 1935

Triple Crown Triple Crown may refer to: Sports Horse racing * Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing * Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing (United States) ** Triple Crown Trophy ** Triple Crown Productions * Canadian Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing * Trip ...

winner Bahram. He also trained The Oaks winner Steady Aim for Sir

Alfred Butt Sir Alfred Butt, 1st Baronet (20 March 1878 – 8 December 1962) was a British theatre impresario, Conservative politician and racehorse owner and breeder. During a fourteen-year tenure as manager of London's Palace Theatre, beginning in 1904, ...

, plus three winners of the

Irish Derby The Irish Derby (Irish: Dearbaí na hÉireann) is a Group 1 flat horse race in Ireland open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at the Curragh over a distance of 1 ...

for the Aga Khan and won the

Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe The Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe is a Group 1 flat horse race in France open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at Longchamp Racecourse in Paris, France, over a distance ...

with

Migoli Migoli (May 8, 1944 – July 11, 1963) was an Irish-bred, British-trained Thoroughbred racehorse bred and raced by the Aga Khan III. Trained in England by Frank Butters, Migoli's win in the 1948 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe was the first fo ...

in 1948. His win with Migoli in the "Arc" was the first for an English-trained horse since 1923 and there would not be another until 1971. He trained 1,019 winners in Great Britain and was Champion Trainer in 1927, 1928, 1932, 1934, 1935, 1944, 1946 and 1949. In 1934 he trained the winners of nine of the 28 races at

Royal Ascot Ascot Racecourse ("ascot" pronounced , often pronounced ) is a dual-purpose British racecourse, located in Ascot, Berkshire, England, which is used for thoroughbred horse racing. It hosts 13 of Britain's 36 annual Flat Group 1 horse races and ...

. His brother, Fred S. Butters (1888-1967), was also a trainer and won the 1937 Epsom Derby with Mid-day Sun.

British Classic wins

1,000 Guineas The 1000 Guineas Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old fillies. It is run on the Rowley Mile at Newmarket over a distance of 1 mile (1,609 ...

- (1) - ''Fair Isle (1930)'' *

2,000 Guineas The 2000 Guineas Stakes is a Group 1 flat race in Great Britain open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run on the Rowley Mile at Newmarket over a distance of 1 mile (1,609 metres) and scheduled to take place each year at ...

- (1) - '' Bahram (1935)'' *

Epsom Oaks The Oaks Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old fillies. It is run at Epsom Downs over a distance of 1 mile, 4 furlongs and 6 yards (2, ...

- (6) - ''

Beam Beam may refer to: Streams of particles or energy *Light beam, or beam of light, a directional projection of light energy **Laser beam *Particle beam, a stream of charged or neutral particles **Charged particle beam, a spatially localized grou ...

(1927),

Toboggan A toboggan is a simple sled traditionally used by children. It is also a traditional form of transport used by the Innu and Cree of northern Canada. In modern times, it is used on snow to carry one or more people (often children) down a hill o ...

(1928),

Udaipur Udaipur () (ISO 15919: ''Udayapura''), historically named as Udayapura, is a city and municipal corporation in Udaipur district of the state of Rajasthan, India. It is the administrative headquarter of Udaipur district. It is the historic capit ...

(1932),

Light Brocade Light Brocade (1931–1947) was a British Thoroughbred racehorse and broodmare. She was one of the best two-year-old fillies in England in 1933 when she won three of her four races including the Molecomb Stakes and Cheveley Park Stakes. In t ...

(1934), Steady Aim (1946),

Masaka Masaka is a city in the Buganda Region of Uganda, west of Lake Victoria. The city is the headquarters of Masaka District. Location Masaka is approximately to the south-west of Kampala on the highway to Mbarara. The city is close to the Equator ...

(1948)'' *

- (2) - ''Bahram (1935), Mahmoud (1936)'' * St. Leger - (5) - '' Fairway (1928), Firdaussi (1932), Bahram (1935),

Turkhan Turkhan (1937 – after 1952) was a British Thoroughbred racehorse and sire, who raced during World War II and was best known for winning the classic St Leger in 1940. He showed good form as a two-year-old, winning the Coventry Stakes at R ...

(1940),

Tehran Tehran (; fa, تهران ) is the largest city in Tehran Province and the capital of Iran. With a population of around 9 million in the city and around 16 million in the larger metropolitan area of Greater Tehran, Tehran is the most popul ...

(1944)''

References

*
National Horseracing Museum
{{DEFAULTSORT:Butters, Frank 1878 births 1957 deaths British racehorse trainers Sportspeople from Vienna Austrian emigrants to the United Kingdom