Sired by the great standardbred Adios with an obscure broodmare named Debby Hanover, Adios Butler was trained and driven by Clint Hodgins. In 1959, Adios Butler won the Cane Pace, then the Little Brown Jug where he was the first horse to win with a sub-two-minute mile and finally the Messenger Stakes, doing it in track and stake record time to become the first pacer to ever capture the Triple Crown of Harness Racing for Pacers.
The following year he lost only one race on a muddy track but later would go on to record a 1:54.3 mile, the then fastest time in harness racing history. Adios Butler was named "Horse of the Year" in 1960 and 1961 by the U.S. Trotting Association and the U.S. Harness Writers Association. After his racing career he would be retired to stud.