On September 10, 1971, 22-year-old John “Butch” Sanders worked his first day at Pin Oak. He was hired as a farm worker, tending to the cattle, tobacco, hay, straw, and asparagus on Ms. Abercrombie’s original Pin Oak, located just down the road from the current farm.

Born in Harrodsburg, Ky., Butch often jokes that he’s “from Pin Oak,” and he’s not far off. He and his wife were married for 51 years, they raised their family right on the farm, and their eldest son even worked at Pin Oak for 20+ years as the track maintenance man. Butch said that the two loves of his life are his wife and Pin Oak.

His favorite Pin Oak horse is Maria’s Mon. “I like them all, but something about him was just classic,” he said.

Butch wakes up at 4:45 a.m. every workday and is at the shop at 6:30. He spends his days mowing, patching fences, dumping muck wagons, fixing the water tanks, and general farm maintenance. “I’ll do anything they ask me to do. At least I’ll try to,” he laughed.

“I have no intention of retiring. I’ll keep working as long as I can,” Butch said. “I enjoy every day and everybody.”

From all of us at Pin Oak, we thank Butch for his 53 years of service. He is an invaluable member of the family.