UK trainer John Butler withdraws all horses from racing with immediate effect

John Butler has withdrawn all his horses from racing with immediate effect, with six entries removed from Wednesday and Thursday meetings “within a minute of each other,” Racing Post reporting as cited by contemporary accounts. The late removals left entries for Friday and Saturday unconfirmed despite jockeys having been booked, with the official non-runner reason recorded only as “other.”

Among the specific entries affected, Rastnet is currently entered to run at Kempton on Monday but “is not currently jocked up” and “it remains to be seen whether the horse… will be declared on Saturday morning.” Rastnet is also entered at Southwell on Wednesday, while Final Night is entered at Kempton on the same Wednesday, creating potential clashes in Butler’s short-term declarations if the horses remain in the system.

Racing Post has alleged that Butler has been “blocked” from having runners, and reports link that allegation to an investigation of his Newmarket yard, although those reports also state there are “no concerns over the condition of horses in his care.” When pressed about the late withdrawals and the circumstances around them, Butler told the Racing Post: “I can’t really comment on that as I am not able to at the moment.”

Butler’s current trouble unfolds alongside recent disciplinary sanctions. WinnersEnclosure reports that Butler was handed a three-month suspension by a BHA disciplinary panel and fined £1,000 for incomplete medical records after being found guilty of misleading officials over the withdrawal of his colt National Anthem in a six-furlong novice race at Redcar in October 2017. The BHA panel said Butler was guilty of “deliberately misleading BHA investigating officers” and found the lies were “premeditated” and “continually repeated and emphasised, and their motive, as eventually admitted by Butler, was to stop any further investigation into why he had endeavoured to run an injured and unfit horse in a race at Redcar.”

Veterinary detail from the Redcar episode included the paddock vet observing National Anthem was “lame on his right-front leg” and had a “massive swelling” to his front-left leg, with the paddock vet advising that the colt should not run the day before the scheduled novice race. Butler’s own vet, Stuart Williamson, backed his boss and described Butler as “very responsible.” WinnersEnclosure also notes Butler “gave the leg up on his last runner for three months at Newcastle on Wednesday after the trainer was suspended last week,” with that last runner Amherst Rock (6/1) finishing sixth behind False ID (3/1F) at Newcastle on Wednesday evening.

Seasonal and career statistics reported for Butler are materially inconsistent between outlets. The Sun reports Butler has had three winners from 30 Flat runners this year with earnings of more than £30,000 and that he has won in excess of six figures every year since 2017, with 57 winners in 2022 earning just shy of £540,000. WinnersEnclosure, by contrast, records that Butler has saddled 32 winners in this flat season claiming more than £200,000, and cites Pushkin Museum (5/2F) as a recent winner at Wolverhampton on November 24. Those conflicting figures will need reconciliation with official BHA and racecard records.

The immediate consequence for race meetings is clear: late non-runners and unconfirmed Friday and Saturday entries forced by-book jockeys into uncertainty, and entries at Kempton and Southwell now carry question marks for Monday and Wednesday declarations. Key verification steps remain open, including whether any formal “blocking” has been imposed on Butler by the BHA, the precise start and end dates of the three-month suspension, and the full list of the six horses withdrawn “within a minute of each other.” Until the BHA, Racing Post, or Butler’s stable provides documentary confirmation, the withdrawals leave Butler’s Newmarket yard under a cloud while his declared runners at Kempton, Southwell, and elsewhere remain in doubt.