Keeneland announced Tuesday that George “Bucky” Sallee, bugler at the
historic race track for more than 50 years, will retire to become Bugler
Emeritus beginning this fall. Noted trumpeter Steve Buttleman has been named
Keeneland’s new track bugler.
“Bucky is a Keeneland icon,” Keeneland President and CEO Bill Thomason said.
“He is a favorite among fans of all ages, having generously shared his time and
musical talent with so many people during his storied career. Bucky is a very
special member of the Keeneland family, and a wonderful ambassador for racing.”
The public is invited to join Keeneland in honoring Bucky on opening day of
the fall race meeting, October 4. Gates open at 11 a.m. (EDT); post time for the
first race is 1:05 p.m. Special commemorations are planned prior to the first
race, and Bucky will sign autographs during the afternoon. Fans will be able to
share their memories of Bucky online, or drop a letter in the “Bucky Mailbox,”
which will be located adjacent to the paddock on opening day.
“Being a part of the Keeneland family has opened a lot of doors for me during
my career,” Sallee said. “I’ve watched race fans literally grow up from kids to
adults with their own children. It’s been a lot of fun.”
A native of Lexington, Kentucky, Bucky began taking trumpet lessons at age 7,
and majored in music at the University of Kentucky. He became a renowned
musician, playing trumpet and tenor sax in the 1950s and early 1960s with such
notable bands as Little Enis and the Fabulous Table Toppers, and Lexington’s
legendary jazz musician Clarence “Duke” Madison. During his career, Bucky has
performed with a number of headliners, including Jerry Lee Lewis, Boots
Randolph, Charlie Daniels, Fats Domino and Pee Wee King.
In the early 1960s, Frank Atkins, the club pro at Picadome Golf Course who
moonlighted at Keeneland during the race meets, asked Bucky to help him by
filling in as track bugler. Since then, Bucky has performed his signature “Boots
and Saddles” for the post parade and “Assembly” at post time, missing only one
day when his wife died on a Saturday in the early 1970s. She was buried on a
Tuesday, when there was no racing, and Bucky returned to work on Wednesday.
He reached a career milestone on October 9, 2002, when he made his 10,000th
call to the post at Keeneland.
Steve Buttleman, of Louisville, Kentucky, brings nearly 20 years of
experience as a bugler to Keeneland, having performed the call to the post at
some of the nation’s most prominent racetracks, including Churchill Downs,
Belmont Park and Oaklawn Park.
“Steve embodies so much of what Keeneland is about,” Thomason said. “He has a
passion for racing and an enthusiasm to share that passion with fans. His No. 1
goal is to make their experience at Keeneland a memorable one.”
Buttleman, a native of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, began playing cornet in the fifth
grade, and earned a degree in trumpet from the University of Louisville School
of Music, where he studied under noted trumpet professor Leon Rapier. Buttleman
is active in the community, playing at civic and charity events around the
state, including Lexington’s Junior League Charity Horse Show. He also takes
part in outreach tours to promote local tourism, and performed at the 2000 and
2004 presidential inaugural balls in Washington, D.C.
“I am honored to become Keeneland’s new bugler,” Buttleman said. “I have the
utmost respect for Bucky and everything he has given to Keeneland, the Lexington
community, and the Thoroughbred industry. I look forward to carrying on Bucky’s
traditions and his role as an ambassador for racing.”
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