Merritt "Butch" Dokey, a Plymouth resident who won 3,878 harness races and earned $24 million in purses over a career spanning nearly four decades, died Wednesday, Aug. 12. He was 87.

Dokey was inducted into the Michigan Harness Horsemen's Association Hall of Fame in 2005, capping a career that took the Kalamazoo native from Quarter Horse jockey to one of the top Standardbred drivers in the country. U.S. Trotting News reported his death this week.

Born May 15, 1939, the 5-foot-6, 130-pound Dokey started as a jockey but grew tired of battling to maintain his weight. He switched to harness racing in the mid-1960s after joining the Joe Marsh Jr. stable in Chicago, and recorded his first driving win in 1967.

By the mid-1970s, Dokey was among the sport's elite. In 1974, he was the regular driver of Huff N Puff, a Michigan-bred mare voted the sport's best older female pacer. His peak came in 1976, when he ranked No. 2 nationally in purses with $1.89 million and No. 5 in wins with 272. That season launched 12 consecutive million-dollar years.

Dokey captured driving titles at Hazel Park and Wolverine Raceway and won dash crowns on the Roosevelt-Yonkers circuit in New York. His biggest paydays included an $80,000 race at Yonkers and a $110,000 race at Hazel Park.

In 2003, at 64, Dokey won the "Battle of the New York Legends" tournament at Monticello Raceway, beating 11 other retired New York harness greats. "Winning wasn't easy but it was fun," he told the New York Post after that victory.

Even in retirement, Dokey stayed close to the sport. In July 2021, at 83, he was still showing up at the Croswell Fairgrounds to help tack horses before races. "I love winning," he told the Port Huron Times Herald that day.

His sons Kevin and Mike have carried on the family legacy as harness racing drivers and trainers.

Dokey called Plymouth home for years. He joins Plymouth native Gary Robinson, who was elected to the Michigan Golf Hall of Fame in July, among local residents honored in Michigan sports halls of fame.