Unraveling the Tale of a Racing Icon's Alleged Crime

Incident Details

The criminal complaint alleges that the woman was a bartender at a place Butzow frequented. He hired her to work a party at his home on May 18 and later asked her to return on May 20 to help clean up leftover food. She claimed that Butzow tried to kiss her several times and convinced her not to drive after she expressed the need to leave. She then lost consciousness and woke up disoriented in bed with Butzow beside her, assaulting her. She managed to escape, call her boyfriend, and seek medical help. A DNA test revealed that Butzow was likely a contributor to the DNA mixture, with a probability of 100 billion times more likely to include his DNA than any other unrelated individual.

According to the charges, Butzow admitted to hiring the bartender for his cocktail party and inviting her back to clean up. They had shared wine together. He claimed to be rubbing her back but denied the sexual assault. His attorney, Chris Madel, declined to comment, and he himself had no comment on the allegations.

Racing Achievements

Butzow, either alone or in partnerships, ranked among the top 20 owners in earnings at Canterbury Park for the past nine years. In 2004 and 2009, his partnerships were third on the track's money list. He bred and owned Zozos in partnership with his wife Joni. Trained by Brad Cox, Zozos had an impressive career from 2022 to 2024, with a 15:7-1-1 record and earnings of $1,011,463. Apart from winning the 2023 Ack Ack as the 7-10 favorite, he also achieved two other wins at the ungraded stakes level and was second in the 2022 Louisiana Derby (G2). He finished 10th in the 2022 Kentucky Derby won by Rich Strike.

He also campaigned the horse Hamazing Destiny, which won the 2012 Maryland Sprint Handicap (G3) at Pimlico, and the mare Bryan's Jewel, the winner of the 2013 Obeah (G3) at Delaware Park. His horses' combined career record, including those with all his partners, is 2149:374-330-300 with earnings of $13,073,788.