Cedar Rapids native Steve Buttleman ‘calling’ Kentucky Derby again

When Steve Buttleman left Cedar Rapids, he didn’t really have strong feelings about the Kentucky Derby.

He was headed to the University of Louisville to study music and play the trumpet. At one time in high school, he did play during at a Derby party.

But that was about it.

A 1983 graduate of Washington High School, Buttleman now is as synonymous with the Kentucky Derby as the horses, jockeys, trainers, owners and mint juleps.

For the 27th straight year, the 56-year-old Buttleman will play “Call to Post” before Saturday’s 148th Kentucky Derby.

“I really enjoy doing this, meeting with fans and enjoying the experience with them,” he said in a telephone interview Thursday.

The Kentucky Derby is his marquee event, of course, but Buttleman does a lot more than just the one race each year. He plays the entire season at Churchill Downs, nine or 10 races a day, five days a week.

He also plays at Keeneland in Lexington, Ky., as well as other events around Louisville looking for that “Derby experience” throughout the year.

“This is what I do,” he said, adding his wife is the “main breadwinner” in the family, but “I stay pretty busy.”

But there’s nothing like the Kentucky Derby and being heard around the world.

“It’s kind of crazy,” he said. “It’s been building for over a month, at least the last two weeks.”

“We have a really good crowd around today.”

He got the gig 27 years ago by simply applying. He made the first cut, then the second. When it came down to two people, Buttleman and the other bugler played back and forth.

“I was lucky enough to be they guy they picked,” he said.

He doesn’t see himself putting his bugle away anytime soon. He said he hopes to be doing this for a long time, “as long as I keep playing well.”

And now, he loves horse racing, calling the horses and jockeys “incredible athletes.”

“I’m not good at picking the horses, but I do enjoy watching them run,” he said.

Comments: (319) 398-8461; jr.ogden@thegazette.com