Prominent Twin Cities racehorse owner, businessman accused of drugging, sexually assaulting bartender

Barry Butzow, a prominent Twin Cities racehorse owner and businessman, is accused of drugging and sexually assaulting a bartender who worked a private party at his Eden Prairie home earlier this year.

The charge of third-degree sexual assault was filed in Hennepin County District Court, along with a warrant for his arrest. He has no prior criminal history in Minnesota.

Butzow, 78, was reached by phone Wednesday and said he had no comment on the allegations and was unaware of the charges. Butzow was a senior vice president with C.H. Robinson Worldwide and has been a fixture in the horse racing community at Canterbury Park for years. He and his wife, Joni, reached the pinnacle of the sport in 2022 when their horse, Zozos, ran in the Kentucky Derby.

Butzow’s attorney, Chris Madel, declined to comment.

According to the charges:

On May 18, a woman was hired to work as a private bartender for a cocktail party at Butzow’s home. The two knew each other well from a Shakopee bar where the woman worked and Butzow was a frequent customer.

Two days later, the woman returned to the house after Butzow asked her to help him clean up and package some leftover food.

The two began drinking wine and Butzow attempted to kiss the woman several times. She repeatedly told him to stop and pushed him away. She tried to leave, but Butzow told her she was in no condition to drive. That was the last thing she remembered before losing consciousness.

She woke up in Butzow’s bed and “felt fuzzy and disoriented.” She told investigators Butzow had his hand down her pants and was assaulting her. She tried to leave but Butzow blocked the door and led her back to the bed. She was eventually able to grab her purse, run out of the house and call her boyfriend for help.

He met her at a nearby hotel and took her to a hospital where she was swabbed for DNA analysis. She told investigators she believes she was drugged because she only had three glasses of wine that night. Analysis of evidence revealed DNA that was “100 billion times more likely” to be Butzow’s than any other individual’s.

Investigators spoke with Butzow who told them he hired the woman to work as a bartender, and that she returned to help clean up two days later on the same day his wife left town. He said they drank wine and she was too intoxicated to drive home so he had her rest in his bedroom. Butzow said he was rubbing her back and she was “in and out of consciousness.” He denied sexually assaulting her and said she left his home around 1 a.m.