Farrier says he ground Hot Rod Charlie’s toe grabs before Lukas

The farrier who put shoes on Hot Rod Charlie said toe grabs that had been on them were ground down before the colt raced to victory this month in the Grade 2 Lukas Classic at Churchill Downs.

“I used a size 6 Kerckhaert Tradition XT, but the toe grab was grounded to flush,” Dean Balut told KHRC stewards in a teleconference Oct. 7, six days after the race. He went on to say Hot Rod Charlie “was actually shod on the 30th (of August).”

Balut’s 10-minute teleconference and his subsequent 43-second video statement were part of the evidence the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission gathered to investigate a claim that Hot Rod Charlie wore illegal toe grabs in the Oct. 1 race. It was among the 74 files the KHRC sent Friday in response to Horse Racing Nation’s Freedom of Information Act request for communications, reports and evidence tied to the investigation.

Stewards concluded Hot Rod Charlie’s shoes were legal, and the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority endorsed that finding Tuesday. The issue had been raised the week after the Lukas Classic by Eric Reed, who trained Rich Strike to a close, second-place finish.

Working as he frequently has for trainer Doug O’Neill, Balut returned from California to Keeneland to reshoe Hot Rod Charlie on Oct. 10, when he met in the stable area with KHRC investigators Paul Brooker and Shannon Garner, according to a report written by Borden and obtained separately by HRN.

Balut then made his video statement to Brooker and said he had to grind down the toe grabs in order to make the front shoes legal under the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act’s federal regulations.

“Prior to (Aug. 30), Kerckhaert did not have a shoe that was HISA compliant,” Balut said. “What we did was ground the shoe, the toe grab, prior to coming to Kentucky to put the shoes on Charlie. So those shoes were completely flush at the toe with no toe grabs.”

Asked in his interview with stewards if there were any issues with the colt’s feet, Balut said, “He had a little something going on with his heels in the bones, a little irritation. He was barefoot. That’s why Doug and the team decided to fly me out (in August). I know this horse well, so they decided to fly me out to see what I could do to help them out.”

Balut also explained that Hot Rod Charlie normally wears Kerckhaert Tradition XT shoes. “That’s a standard shoe I use on all my horses,” he said.

Photographs of Hot Rod Charlie’s front hooves were taken by KHRC investigators at his Keeneland barn on Oct. 5. The nails and the wear appeared to match the images taken by at least five photographers at the end of the Oct. 1 race.

All the Lukas Classic pictures the KHRC sent to HRN in its evidence package were shot by Coady Photography, which is contracted by Churchill Downs to provide racing images. Coverage from other photographers, including the Eclipse Sportswire shots used by HRN, were not included. HRN provided four Eclipse images to the KHRC that also were posted in early coverage of the story Oct. 4.

Stewards asked Balut for an explanation as to why it appeared Hot Rod Charlie had toe grabs in race-day photos but not afterward at the barn.

“The way that appears to look like a toe grab, I can’t comment on that,” Balut said. “That just seems like a bad angle or some sort of shadow. The picture … where they have the foot front from the front view, if you take a look at the foot or the shoe itself, you’ll see almost an upside-down, smile shape.”

Balut said that was a function of more than a month of wear and tear on the shoes.

“They possibly could have worn all the way back,” Balut said. “The toe grab inserted inside could have been showing, but that shoe was regulation. There was no traction device, no toe grab below the shoe.”

In order to relieve stress on horses legs, traction extensions that include “rims, toe grabs, bends, jar calks and stickers” are prohibited under HISA rule 2276. The only exceptions are for hind shoes on horses racing on dirt. Kentucky was among the many states that already prohibited toe grabs before HISA came into being this summer.

In her KHRC report, Borden said she reached out to O’Neill on Oct. 4. That was the day Reed raised the shoe issue with Borden after he was sent some of the finish-line photos by a trainer who did not have a horse in the race.

“I did not disclose the nature of our examination to him at the time,” Borden wrote. She said the same thing about her request for images from Coady Photography that same day. HRN ran its first story on the subject late that afternoon.

The investigation materials sent by the KHRC also included separate text and email exchanges between the KHRC and O’Neill, Reed and Rich Strike’s owner Rick Dawson.

Lead KHRC attorney Jennifer Wolsing told Dawson on Oct. 5 he could not have fellow Thoroughbred owner Jerry Jamgotchian speak for him in this case, because Jamgotchian “and/or his personal attorney are not your authorized agents.” Dawson responded by saying he would represent himself.

Dawson and Reed said they would not comment on the KHRC evidence until they had a chance to read this story after it was posted.

The KHRC document package also said Borden sent the photographic evidence to Michael Peyton, a representative of “the HISA enforcement team” working in his role as a paralegal for Lexington, Ky., attorney Rebecca Price.

O’Neill’s statement that he does not use toe grabs also was in the evidence package. It was part of an Oct. 4 text message to Borden. “My only thought is that the photo is a result of a weird reflection or it’s been altered” was a statement O’Neill repeated on social media that night.