Pay the Butler (20 February 1984 – 1991) was an American

Thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed. Thoroughbreds are c ...

racehorse best known for winning the 1988

Japan Cup The is one of the most prestigious horse races in Japan. It is contested on the last Sunday of November, post time of 15:40 at Tokyo Racecourse in Fuchu, Tokyo at a distance of 2400 meters (about miles) run under weight for age conditions with ...

. Bred in

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...

, he began his racing career in France and won two of his seventeen starts before moving back to the United States as a four-year-old in the spring of 1988. He won the

Red Smith Handicap The Red Smith Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually at Aqueduct Racetrack in Queens, New York. A race on turf open to horses age three and older, it is typically run in November over a distance of miles (11 furlongs). Inaugur ...

on his North American debut and in November he defeated a top-class international field in the Japan Cup. He remained in training for two further seasons and ran well in several major contests but recorded only one minor win. He was retired to stud in Japan but died in 1991 after one season as a breeding stallion.

Background

Pay the Butler was a bay horse bred in Kentucky by Robin Scully's Clovelly Farm. He was sired by the French stallion

Val de l'Orne Val de l'Orne (1972–1993) was a French Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. He won four of his five races between September 1974 and June 1975 before his racing career was ended by injury. In 1974 he won on his debut and then finished second i ...

who won the

Prix du Jockey Club The Prix du Jockey Club, sometimes referred to as the French Derby, is a Group 1 flat horse race in France open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at Chantilly over a ...

in 1975. His other progeny included the

Queen's Plate The King's Plate (known as the Queen's Plate between 1860 to 1901 and 1952 to 2022) is Canada's oldest Thoroughbred horse race, having been founded in 1860. It is also the oldest continuously run race in North America. It is run at a distance of ...

winners

Golden Choice Golden Choice (foaled 1983) is a Canadian Thoroughbred racehorse best known for winning Canada's most prestigious horse race, the Queen's Plate. Sired by Val de l'Orne, the 1975 Prix du Jockey Club winner, his damsire was Barachois, a son of No ...

and

La Lorgnette {{Infobox racehorse , horsename = La Lorgnette , image = , caption = , sire = Val de l'Orne , grandsire = Val de Loir , dam = The Temptress , damsire = Nijinsky , sex = Filly , foaled = 1982 , country = Canada , colour = Bay , breed ...

as well as the

Hollywood Derby The Hollywood Derby is a Grade I American Thoroughbred horse race held annually in late November/early December. Now held at Del Mar racetrack in San Diego, California, until 2014 it was held at Hollywood Park Racetrack in Inglewood, California. T ...

winner Victory Zone. Pay The Butler's dam Princess Morvi produced several other winners including River God (also by Val de l'Orne) who won the

Queen's Vase The Queen's Vase is a Group 2 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old horses. It is run at Ascot over a distance of 1 mile 6 furlongs and 34 yards (2,847 metres), and it is schedule ...

and finished third in the

St Leger The St Leger Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at Doncaster over a d ...

. She was a descendant of the influential French broodmare L'Esperance. As a

yearling Yearling may refer to: *Yearling (horse), a horse between one and two years old *''The Yearling ''The Yearling'' is a novel by American writer Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, published in March 1938. It was the main selection of the Book of the Mo ...

, the colt was offered for sale at

Keeneland Keeneland Association, Inc. is an equine business based in Lexington, Kentucky. It includes two distinct divisions: the Keeneland Race Course, a Thoroughbred racing facility, and Keeneland Sales, a horse auction complex. It is also known for it ...

in September 1985 but failed to reach his

reserve price In economics, a reservation (or reserve) price is a limit on the price of a good or a service. On the demand side, it is the highest price that a buyer is willing to pay; on the supply side, it is the lowest price a seller is willing to accept ...

of $20,000.

Racing career

1986 & 1987: two- and three-year-old seasons

As a two-year-old, Pay the Butler raced in France and failed to win in five races although he finished third in the Listed Prix Herbager at

Maisons-Laffitte Racecourse The Hippodrome de Maisons-Laffitte at 1 avenue de la Pelouse in the northwestern Parisian suburb of Maisons-Laffitte in France was a grass, turf horse racing facility and Hippodrome, track for Thoroughbred flat racing. Opened in 1878 by Joseph Olle ...

. In the following year was unplaced in eight of his nine races but recorded his first victory when he won the Listed Grand Prix de Strasbourg on 28 May.

1988: four-year-old season

In the early part of 1988, Pay the Butler raced three times in France, winning a handicap race at

Longchamp Racecourse The Longchamp Racecourse (french: Hippodrome de Longchamp) is a 57 hectare horse-racing facility located on the Route des Tribunes at the Bois de Boulogne in Paris, France. It is used for flat racing and is noted for its variety of interlaced tr ...

on April 4 and was then sent to the United States to be trained by Robert J. Frankel. On his first appearance for his new trainer Pay the Butler contested the

Grade II In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

over ten

furlong A furlong is a measure of distance in imperial units and United States customary units equal to one eighth of a mile, equivalent to 660 feet, 220 yards, 40 rods, 10 chains or approximately 201 metres. It is now mostly confined to use in hors ...

s at

Belmont Park Belmont Park is a major thoroughbred horse racing facility in the northeastern United States, located in Elmont, New York, just east of the New York City limits. It was opened on May 4, 1905. It is operated by the non-profit New York Racin ...

on May 28 and won by a neck from Equalize. He continued to run well in the United States, finishing second in both the

Bowling Green Handicap The Bowling Green Stakes is a Grade II American thoroughbred horse race for horses age four years old and older over a distance of miles on the turf held annually in late July at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, New York. History The in ...

and the

Man o' War Stakes The Man o' War Stakes is a Grade I American thoroughbred horse race for horses aged four-years-old and older. It is run over a distance of one and three-eighth miles on turf and is scheduled annually for early May at Belmont Park in Elmont, New Y ...

before running unplaced in the

Canadian International Stakes The Canadian International Stakes is a Grade I stakes race for thoroughbred racehorses three years of age and up on Turf. It is held annually in October at Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The current purse is Since its creation i ...

on October 16. Pay the Butler was sent to Japan to contest the eighth running of the

Tokyo Racecourse is located in Fuchu, Tokyo, Japan. Built in 1933 for horse racing, it is considered the "racecourse of racecourses" in Japanese horseracing. It has a capacity of 223,000, with seating for 13,750. Tokyo Racecourse hosts numerous G1 (Grade 1) r ...

on November and started at odds of 13.9/1 in a fourteen-runner field. There was a strong European contingent comprising

Tony Bin Tony may refer to: People and fictional characters * Tony (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Gregory Tony (born 1978), American law enforcement officer * Motu Tony (born 1981), New Zealand international rugby leagu ...

from Italy, Moon Madness and Shady Heights (

International Stakes The International Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged three years or older. It is run at York over a distance of 1 mile, 2 furlongs and 56 yards (2, ...

) from Britain and Kondor (

Preis von Europa The Preis von Europa is a Group 1 flat horse race in Germany open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at Cologne over a distance of 2,400 metres (about 1½ miles), and it is scheduled to take place eac ...

, Aral-Pokal) from Germany. The other North American contenders were Salem Drive (

Gulfstream Park Turf Handicap The Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational is a Grade I American Thoroughbred horse race, by invitation for four-year-olds and older over a distance of one and one-eighth miles on the turf track, held annually in late January or early February at Gulf ...

) and My Big Boy (

Bernard Baruch Handicap The Bernard Baruch Handicap is a Grade III American Thoroughbred horse race for three-years-old and older run over a distance of miles on the turf annually in early August at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, New York. The event current ...

) whilst the Southern hemisphere was represented by the New Zealand-bred gelding

Bonecrusher Bonecrusher may refer to: * Bone crusher, a machine used to crush animal bones * Bonecrusher (horse), a New Zealand racehorse * Bonecrusher (Transformers), a fictional robot supervillain character in the Transformers robot superhero franchise. * ...

. The best of the "home team" appeared to be

Tamamo Cross Tamamo Cross (in Japanese: タマモクロス) (foaled May 23, 1984) is a Japanese Thoroughbred racehorse who won the multiple Grade 1 titles. Career Tamamo's first race was on November 1st, 1987 at the Fujinomori Tokubetsu, which he won. He th ...

, who started favourite after wins in the

Takarazuka Kinen The Takarazuka Kinen (宝塚記念) is a Conditions races, Grade I Flat racing, flat Horse racing, horse race in Japan for three-year-old and above thoroughbreds where they run over a distance of 2,200 metres (approximately miles) at Hanshin Race ...

and the

Tenno Sho The is a horse race held twice a year in Japan, once in the spring and once in the autumn. "Tenno" means "Emperor of Japan". The races are both International Grade I races. Prior to the 2007 races, both Tenno Sho races were Japanese domestic Gr ...

and the three-year-old

Oguri Cap Oguri Cap (Japanese : オグリキャップ, 27 March 1985 – 3 July 2010) was a Japanese thoroughbred racehorse, sired by Dancing Cap. Oguri Cap was inducted into the Japan Racing Association Hall of Fame in 1991. Racing career In May 1987 ...

. Ridden by

Chris McCarron Christopher John McCarron (born March 27, 1955, Boston, Massachusetts) is a retired American thoroughbred horse racing Hall of Fame jockey. He mounted his first horse ever at 16.5 years old and was racing professionally by 18. At only 19 years o ...

, Pay the Butler won by half a length from Tamamo Cross, with Oguri Cap taking third just ahead of My Big Boy, Tony Bin and Moon Madness. On his final appearance of the year, Pay the Butler finished sixth behind the

Breeders' Cup Turf The Breeders' Cup Turf is a Weight for Age Thoroughbred horse race on turf for three-year-olds and up. It is held annually at a different racetrack in the United States or Canada as part of the Breeders' Cup World Championships. The race's current ...

winner

Great Communicator Great Communicator (1983–1990) is an American Thoroughbred racehorse best known for winning the 1988 Breeders' Cup Turf. Owned by George Ackel and trained by his son Thad, Great Communicator was a grandson of the Hall of Fame sire Bold Rul ...

in the

Hollywood Turf Cup Stakes The Hollywood Turf Cup is a Graded stakes race, Grade II American Thoroughbred horse race for three-years-old or older over a distance of one and one-half miles (12 furlongs) on the Grass, turf track scheduled annually in late November at Del Mar R ...

Hollywood Park Racetrack Hollywood Park was a thoroughbred race course located in Inglewood, California, about 3 miles (5 km) from Los Angeles International Airport and adjacent to the Forum indoor arena. In 1994, the original Hollywood Park Casino was added to the ...

on December 24.

1989: five-year-old season

Pay the Butler failed to win in nine starts as a five-year-old in 1989 but ran well in several major turf races. He finished second in the

Pan American Handicap The Pan American Stakes is a Grade II American Thoroughbred horse race for horses that are four years or older held over a distance of one and one-half miles (twelve furlongs) on the turf usually scheduled annually in late March as an under card ev ...

and the

Oak Tree Invitational Stakes The John Henry Turf Championship Stakes (renamed for John Henry who won it three times) is an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually during the Oak Tree Racing Association's Autumn Meeting at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California. It is ...

as well as running third in the

John Henry Handicap The John Henry Handicap was an American Thoroughbred horse race held annually at Hollywood Park Racetrack in Inglewood, California from 1986 through 1994. A Graded stakes race, Grade II event open to horses age three and older, it was contest on Gr ...

and the Bowling Green Handicap. On his final start of the year he attempted to repeat his 1988 success in the Japan Cup. He was gain ridden by McCarron and finished third of the fifteen runners behind

Horlicks Horlicks is a sweet malted milk hot drink powder developed by founders James and William Horlick. It was first sold as "Horlick's Infant and Invalids Food", soon adding "aged and travellers" to their label. In the early 20th century, it was so ...

and Oguri Cap.

1990: six-year-old season

Pay the Butler began his 1990 campaign by winning an allowance race at Hollywood Park in May but failed to make any impact in five subsequent races. On his final appearance he finished fourth in an allowance at Hollywood in November.

Stud record

Pay the Butler was retired from racing to become a breeding stallion in Japan but died in 1991 after one season at stud. The best of his only crop of foals was Pal Bright, a mare who recorded Grade III wins in the Niigata Kinen and the Hakodate Kinen.

Pedigree

References

{{Reflist 1984 racehorse births 1991 racehorse deaths Racehorses bred in Kentucky Racehorses trained in France Racehorses trained in the United States Thoroughbred family 9-e Japan Cup winners