Don Butte, Fasig-Tipton Controller for 40 Years, Dies at 75

Donald Gene Butte, who spent 40 years as the controller for Fasig-Tipton, died at his home in Florida on March 7 after battling gastric cancer for more than a year. He was 75.

A University of Kentucky graduate and certified public accountant, Butte led Fasig-Tipton's accounting and financial operations across four decades, working with buyers and sellers from around the world and handling transactions for some of the most expensive racehorses ever sold. Few people in the industry knew Butte despite his long association with the sales company, a fact Fasig-Tipton president Boyd Browning Jr. described as "a testament to how good of a job he's done" things handled so efficiently behind the scenes that his name rarely surfaced publicly, even as his fingerprints were on every major deal.

Browning did not hold back in his assessment of what Butte meant to the organization. "Don was a very valuable member of our team for many years," Browning said. "He was a calm and intellectual person who approached everything with professionalism. But more important than being a good employee, he was just a fine human being."

Central Kentucky horsemen and horsewomen remembered Butte for his expertise, integrity, humility, and the calm professionalism he brought to every sale. He was the face of the sales office with a devoted, long-time staff that focused on providing exceptional service to everyone in attendance.

The work was never purely transactional for Butte. His wife, Mary, and daughter, Katie, often traveled with him to East Coast sales, turning auction weeks into family affairs. The family made more than 50 trips to Disney World with Katie and traveled throughout Europe together, but the sales circuit had its own rituals. Katie Butte began working in the Saratoga Springs, N.Y., Fasig-Tipton office when she was 7, handing out catalogs and pens, and father and daughter built a cherished tradition of having lunch at the snack bar while debating which horse would be the sales topper.

Born December 9, 1950, Don grew up in Eubank, Kentucky, where he described his childhood as idyllic. He spent his early years roller skating, riding his bike, and hanging out at his grandfather's Ford dealership, where he first discovered the joy of numbers while playing with the adding machines. Music was among his earliest gifts: at 12, he began playing piano and organ at Eubank Baptist Church, and for 25 years filled the sanctuary of Chevy Chase Baptist Church with music.

Butte retired in 2021, having already set the next chapter in motion. He and Mary had moved to Southwest Florida in 2019 to be near the Sanibel and Captiva beaches he loved. At the time of his retirement, Browning said Butte was due "a much-deserved retirement."

He is survived by his wife, Mary Lou Lee-Butte; their daughter, Sarah Kathryn (Katie) Butte; his brother, Harold Butler and wife Anne; nieces and nephews; and a large extended family on Mary's side. A service conducted by Rev. Chuck Kemp will be held Saturday, March 28, at Clintonville Christian Church, 141 Austerlitz Road, Paris, Kentucky, with visitation beginning at 11 a.m. and the service at 12:30 p.m. Those wishing to honor his memory may contribute to Clintonville Christian Church at that address, or to the Paris Animal Welfare Society (PAWS), 6 Legion Road, Paris, Kentucky, 40361.