Agent Ranch - A day with Aidan Butler

In It to Win It

Aidan Butler and the team at 1/ST RACING are reimagining horseracing for a new generation.

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“Chief Operating Officer.” The title alone generates a distinct image and definition within us. You know who that person is. You know the way they speak, you know what their motivating factors are. You know how they dress, where they eat—where they vacation.

Aidan Butler is not that COO.

In fact, calling Aidan Butler COO of 1/ST RACING—part of horseracing’s most innovative and progressive group of companies—is almost an insult. You don’t see too many COO’s at the racetrack before dawn lovingly tending to his seven horses. You don’t see many COO’s coming home covered in horse chips after a long day of racetrack operations. You don’t see many COO’s who come from a long line of bookmakers in Birmingham, England shaking up the U.S. horseracing world from Miami to L.A. And you certainly don’t see many COO’s with the passion Aidan holds for one of the world’s most exciting and beautiful sports.

Since its inception, 1/ST has had a singular vision—to bring the majesty, excitement, luxury, entertainment, and wagering of horseracing to the modern audience with an emphasis on elevating the customer experience. But in order to do that, Chairman, CEO, and President Belinda Stronach and her team at 1/ST had to change the industry from the inside out. That meant new safety protocols for horses and jockeys, a new commitment to the stakeholders in the industry, a new understanding between track and personnel, and a new relationship between track and customer.

So, when Aidan arrived at 1/ST RACING to usher in the new look, feel, and experience of modern horseracing in America, he took the reins, dug his heels into the mud, and created a new breed of the sport destined to capture the hearts of all who have the privilege of experiencing a curated 1/ST RACING event whether at Laurel or Pimlico in Maryland, Gulfstream in Florida, or Santa Anita in the heart of Southern California.

Needless to say, all that’s not easy to do in a sport notoriously tied to its historic roots, customs, and ideology.

Elevated had a chance to catch-up with Aidan—which is difficult for a man who splits all of his time running five legendary racetracks located on opposite ends of the country—to learn about the vision behind horseracing’s most creative company, as well as to dive-in to the reshaping of a sport that’s taking exhilaration, entertainment, and culture to a whole new level and whole new audience.

You come from a long line of bookmakers. What is it about horseracing that invigorates you?

I think the sheer spectacle of one-thousand-plus-pound animals running as fast as they do and the energy it creates generates a distinct emotional and physical response that is unlike any other on planet earth. Horse fans are besotted with the animal and horseracing fans love the wagering aspect—but the truth is you can be the biggest curmudgeon in the world and when you see that animal in flight, you recognize the beauty of the sport and in turn, it’s hard not to fall in love.

To say you wear many hats would be an understatement. From overseeing health and safety on the track, to managing racing programs and content, to continuously expanding 1/ST RACING culture, you’ve

got your hand in everything. But there’s much more to it. In your own words, how would you explain what you do?

Let me say it’s not a good idea to do what I do! Very little sleep, covered in mud, an endless line of early mornings. It’s not glamorous by any means. But all joking aside, it’s all about selecting a team of likeminded forward-thinking people who come together to build and nurture the culture of horseracing. Horseracing is an old-fashioned sport and sports that are set in their antiquated operations and ideas are not easy to adjust. In order to do that, I have to surround myself with some of the best and most creative people in the world.

And one of those people is Belinda Stronach—everything we do is under her guidance and direction and her vision has helped shape what the future of horseracing looks like.

From a strictly job perspective, as COO I oversee all racing operations at five tracks, two in California, two in Maryland, and one in Florida as well as two large training centers all of which include 8000 thoroughbreds and thousands of people and staff.

Then there’s the actual business of horseracing, aka, how horseracing makes money. And almost all of the money generated from horseracing comes from wagering—and that’s my wheelhouse as a third generation bookmaker.

So, in order to successfully expand the culture of horseracing, I need to apply the safest and highest caliber practices to the sport, and then program races that people are certain to enjoy and bet on. For me, it’s always about putting forth the best of the best and finding races that

are equally good where equally healthy horses can compete.

Our team is amazing at what they do, including Craig Fravel, CEO of 1/ ST RACING, Dr. Dionne Benson, Chief Veterinary Officer, 1/ST RACING, Jimmy Vargas, CEO of 1/ST EXPERIENCE, Paul Williams CEO of 1/ST TECHNOLOGY, and Gregg Colvin, CEO of 1/ST CONTENT.

All of us come together to build a culture that improves, modernizes, and makes the beautiful spectacle of horseracing as good as it can be.

With the advent of new technology and 24/7 connectivity, the world of horseracing has evolved immensely, especially in the past two years. As COO of 1/ST RACING you’re expected to guide the future of the sport. So what does the future look like?

I will say the future looks great. We’re utilizing all of the modern touch points for the consumer, creating a world-class customer experience, and using all forms of modern connectivity to engage. Aside from that, the advent of legal sports wagering has helped lift us up to where we are. Before, the only legal wagering you could do in certain states was horseracing. Now its everywhere and all of the evolving tie-ins allow us to use more modern technologies and innovations like our 1/ST BET app. Now is the perfect opportunity to get in front of lots of new eyeballs that normally wouldn’t’ have had the access or the wherewithal to access, watch, or experience horseracing.

1/ST is the torchbearer when it comes to reimagining the sport and culture of horseracing. What do you see as the main factors contributing to the allure of horseracing for a new generation?

1/ST is the moniker of a large group of different businesses. We’re a major racetrack operator, the largest tote operator, and we’ve created one of largest gambling apps. So, historically, we’ve been vertically integrated from the beginning.

But still, the challenge is and always will be how to engage and embrace a younger audience.

When Belinda took charge, we made improvements to the sport. But we still needed to find a way to get the younger audience excited and get in front of those with zero visibility.

In order to do that, we built a team, from an experience standpoint, from the outside world. We pulled in some of the best from media, entertainment, and technology and let the modern outside world in on an “older” historical sport.

The result has been a streamlined customer experience that checks all the boxes from an entertainment and sporting perspective. Who would have thought there was a way to tie-in Post Malone to a horseracing event? We did that.

When you arrived on the scene at 1/ST RACING, you made it a point to create new health and safety protocols for both horses and jockeys. How were you able to bridge the gap between owners, venues, riders, and trainers to create a harmonious balance that serves everyone better?

Today, people are concerned about the planet and animal welfare. With horseracing, we must embrace that ideology for the new generation. When horseracing is done right, it’s the most beautiful spectacle in the world.

In order to deliver that product, you have to truly understand the ecosystem of horseracing, from the track, to the valets, to the grooms, and trainers—the stakeholders.

When we first arrived on the scene, we had a great level of support because Belinda was dedicated to doing everything the right way. Dr. Dionne Benson, our Chief Veterinary Officer, came up with novel ways to keep horses and riders safe.

Being a trainer is tough—no sleep, constantly inundated with issues. From a managerial standpoint, we needed to align with stakeholders to come up with an inclusive and transparent system that works for everyone.

Tracks can’t do it all. That means we have to be far more hands-on than our predecessors. We have to be there early in the morning each day to see firsthand the interworking of the system. It takes more than slick ideas—it takes a village.

Major horseracing events have forever been a chance for people to come together to celebrate fashion, cocktails, cuisine…and wagering. And now with the Pegasus World Cup, all that’s been taken up a notch. Tell us about the vision behind one of the sports’ newest, yet most recognizable and lucrative events.

The Pegasus World Cup is really special because it’s the new brainchild of Belinda. Basically, we take all that is the best we can be and do in horseracing and marry it with every aspect of worldclass entertainment. Each event we host could be a standalone event in the ordinary world. The quality of the customer experience, the entertainment, the food—all of it is five-star, the best that it can be. It’s a day that’s centric to racing. Plus, the fact that it takes place between

Miami and Ft. Lauderdale makes it the perfect location for hosting.

It’s truly a celebration that everyone who has any interest in horseracing, culture, and entertainment should experience, and this year we had a great lineup including DJ Cassidy, Ja Rule, Lil’ Kim, Mase, El DeBarge and Lil’ Cease.

There’s a huge difference between the East Coast and the West Coast culturally. What separates a day at Gulfstream in Miami versus a day at Santa Anita?

Well they’re similar in a couple ways in that both venues provide high quality racing and are aesthetically spectacular.

The difference is we run less in California—California is a long way from the rest of country. One is a modern building with a distinct Miami vibe, and the other is one of the finest art-deco buildings in Southern California. One holds 70,000 people, the other 20,000—so there’s a different feel.

There’s a distinct Cali vibe to Santa Anita while Gulfstream is uniquely Floridian. Either way, you’re guaranteed a suntan.

Any big racing days ahead you’re particularly excited about?

1/ST SATURDAY on March 5th is a huge day of racing. We’ve got the Fountain of Youth prep for the Kentucky Derby at Gulfstream and Big ‘Cap Day at Santa Anita. Coast-to-coast live events is something that’s never been done before, so it might well be one of the biggest days in horseracing we’ve ever seen with 15 stakes races. No company has ever done that.

If you could pick one day at the track that you’d put front and center in your memoir, which would it be and why?

That’s tough because I’ve been going to racetracks constantly since I was ten—thirty-five years is a lot of racing. But of late, one day that sticks out occurred in Del Mar. I own a racehorse, Thirty Four Coupe, at Santa Anita, and we went down to Del Mar to compete in a race that was way too good for him and placed 2nd! You would have thought we’d won the Kentucky Derby!

Outside of that, most days of the week I’m in charge of five tracks running simultaneously so if everyone is safe and everyone is happy— if that’s all I ever get, that’s all I’ll ever want.

To experience the best of the best of horseracing culture, wagering, and entertainment, visit 1st.com

1/ST RACING EVENTS:1/29/22 3/5/22 4/2/22 4/9/22 5/21/22 5/21/22 10/22/22 10/22/22

Pegasus World Cup, Gulfstream Park, Hallandale Beach, FL 1/ST SATURDAY Santa Anita Park, Arcadia, CA/Gulfstream Park, Hallandale Beach, FL Florida Derby, Gulfstream Park, Hallandale Beach, FL Santa Anita Derby, Santa Anita Park, Arcadia, CA Preakness, Pimlico Race Course, Baltimore, MD Infield Fest, Pimlico Race Course, Baltimore, MD Maryland Million, Maryland Jockey Club, Laurel, MD Clubhouse Fest, Maryland Jockey Club, Laurel, MD

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