Papers: Probe 3 days after Lukas Classic clears Hot Rod Charlie

Kentucky stewards who investigated whether Hot Rod Charlie had illegal toe grabs while winning the Grade 2 Lukas Classic at Churchill Downs on Oct. 1 believed that the colt actually was wearing legal shoes “for quite some time,” according to a written log they provided to the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority. 

They also appeared to downplay photographic evidence from the finish of the race in favor of a physical inspection of the horse’s shoes three days afterward. Images taken by at least five photographers appeared to show Hot Rod Charlie with toe grabs on his front hooves, but stewards apparently decided the evidence was not irrefutable. In essence, they said the call stands.

Fed authority clears Hot Rod Charlie in Lukas Classic win.

Kentucky Horse Racing Commission chief steward Barbara Borden’s written chronologies of the investigation were obtained by Horse Racing Nation after HISA announced Tuesday afternoon it endorsed her opinion that Hot Rod Charlie wore legal shoes in the Lukas Classic

Borden’s two-page, 668-word timeline and another 190 words on a one-page KHRC form detailed 10 days of activity that were focused primarily on an inspection of Hot Rod Charlie’s front shoes nearly 72 hours after the race.

“Dr. Bruce Howard located and identified Hot Rod Charlie,” Borden wrote of the KHRC equine medical director’s pop inspection Oct. 4 at Keeneland. “(Howard) examined his shoes and reported back to me and (steward Brooks) Becraft that the shoes, which appeared to have been on the horse for quite some time, in his opinion were free from any traction device and complied with the HISA shoe rule.”

Borden said the investigation was spurred by a call she got from Eric Reed, the trainer of Lukas Classic runner-up Rich Strike.

“Reed informed me that he had been sent a photo, anonymously, that appeared to show a toe grab on the left front foot of Hot Rod Charlie,” Borden wrote. “He forwarded four photos to me by text and asked me to look into the situation.”

Borden outlined the steps taken to inspect both Hot Rod Charlie as well as finish-line photographs taken by Coady Photography, which is contracted by Churchill Downs to provide racing images at the track. She emphasized in her report that she did not tell Hot Rod Charlie’s trainer Doug O’Neill or photographer Kevin Coady what she was pursuing.

“I did not disclose the nature of our investigation to him at that time,” Borden wrote about what she told O’Neill on Oct. 4 at 2 p.m. EDT. “I did not disclose the reason for my request, and the news story had not yet surfaced,” is what Borden said she told photographer Kevin Coady that day at 4 p.m. EDT.

Supported by enlarged images taken independently by Eclipse Sportswire photographers Jennie Doyle and Matt Wooley, Horse Racing Nation first reported the story that afternoon at 5:15. A story posted by Paulick Report with a photo from EquiSport carried a time stamp of 7:34 p.m.

The following day, Oct. 5, Howard and Becraft returned to the O’Neill barn at Keeneland, joined by KHRC veterinarian Dr. Molly Metz and paddock blacksmith Arthur Tearl.

“Dr. Howard acknowledged that the shoes were the same ones that he had seen the previous day,” Borden wrote. “Numerous photos were taken by Howard, Metz and Becraft.”

Two days later, on Oct. 7, Borden said she, Becraft and steward Ronald Herbstreit interviewed farrier Dean Balut, who said he most recently had reshod Hot Rod Charlie on Aug. 30, more than three weeks after a third-place finish in the Whitney (G1) at Saratoga.

On Oct. 10, Balut reshod the colt again in the presence of two KHRC investigators at Keeneland. Borden wrote that the old shoes were sealed in evidence bags. Last Wednesday they were delivered to Borden, who said she handed them over to HISA lawyers based in Lexington, Ky., on Thursday.

In conclusion on the KHRC form dated Oct. 8, Borden wrote, “After a thorough review of numerous photos taken both at (Churchill Downs) on 10-1-22 and also at Keeneland on 10-4-22 and 10-5-22, the in-person inspections of (Hot Rod Charlie) and the interview of farrier Dean Balut, the stewards have determined that there is sufficient evidence to confirm that (Hot Rod Charlie) raced in compliance with HISA rule 2276 at Churchill Downs on 10-1-22.”

Borden did not explain in her documents why stewards discounted the photographic evidence. She also did not outline why Howard believed the legal shoes he found on Hot Rod Charlie the Tuesday after the race “appeared to have been on the horse for quite some time.”

The stewards’ original decision was made Oct. 8, based on Borden’s dated signature on the KHRC form. HISA did not announce its endorsement of the ruling until Tuesday, five days after the shoes found on Hot Rod Charlie’s front hooves were delivered to HISA.