Hot Rod Charlie Timeline Shows KHRC Acted Quickly

On Oct. 4, three days after Hot Rod Charlie  won the Lukas Classic Stakes (G2) at Churchill Downs, Kentucky Horse Racing Commission stewards launched an investigation the same day trainer Eric Reed sent photos he said indicated Hot Rod Charlie was wearing toe grabs in violation of a federal safety regulation.

At that point a formal complaint had not yet been filed by Reed, who trains the runner-up, Rich Strike , second by a head in the Lukas. "He forwarded four photos to me by text and asked me to look into the situation," Chief Steward Barbara Borden wrote in a report before recommending to the Horse Racing and Integrity Authority that no action be taken.

According to a timeline supplied in response to an open records request made by BloodHorse to KHRC, after Borden received the photos she conferred that day with fellow steward Brooks Becraft. At 1:45 p.m. (all times ET) that afternoon, she contacted Dr. Bruce Howard, KHRC's Equine Medical Director and asked him to go to Keeneland.

Fifteen minutes later, according to Borden's timeline, she had trainer Doug O'Neill on the phone, when he told her which barn housed Hot Rod Charlie. The timeline says Borden didn't tell O'Neill why she was calling, only that someone needed to be at the barn in five minutes so the horse could be examined.

Howard then found the barn, examined Hot Rod Charlie and reported there was no traction device on his shoes, which Howard said showed enough wear to indicate they had been on the horse for "quite some time." (A paddock blacksmith is responsible for ensuring appropriate shoes are worn by participants on race day, Borden previously told BloodHorse.)

Sometime before 4:00 p.m., Borden called O'Neill again, told him the situation and asked for the most recent farrier invoice. It showed, according to Borden, that farrier Dean Balut was brought to Kentucky from California to shoe the horse a month before the Lukas Classic.

At 4:00 p.m. the same day, Borden contacted Coady Photography, the Churchill Downs track photography service, and asked for all photos of Hot Rod Charlie taken before, during, and after the race without disclosing why. The first story about the issue was posted on Horse Racing Nation at 7:01 that evening. Borden wrote that she received the photos from Coady between 7:30 p.m. and 8:00 p.m.

The photos submitted by Reed to Borden were taken by Eclipse Sportswire and appeared to show a protrusion on the front of Hot Rod Charlie's front shoes. Photos submitted to stewards by Coady Photography that were released by KHRC in the open records request do not.

The next day, Oct. 5, Howard was back at Hot Rod Charlie's barn along with Becraft, KHRC veterinarian Dr. Molly Metz, and Kentucky paddock blacksmith Arthur Tearl. Several photos were taken after Howard said the shoes were the same ones he saw the day before.

On Oct. 6, according to Borden's investigative timeline, "photos from all sources" and the farrier invoice were reviewed by Borden and steward Ronald Herbstreit at Keeneland. The following day, all three stewards interviewed Balut by telephone.

On Saturday, Oct. 8, the stewards sent a brief summary of their investigation to HISA officials, and Borden prepared a separate report in which, after noting the evidence that was collected, she wrote "the stewards have determined there is sufficient evidence to confirm that HRC (Hot Rod Charlie) raced in compliance with HISA Rule #2276 at Churchill Downs on 10-1-22."

By Monday, Balut was at Keeneland where he removed Hot Rod Charlie's shoes, which were bagged and tagged for evidence, with KHRC investigators Paul Brooker and Shannon Garner present. Brooker delivered the shoes to Borden two days later and she turned them over to a HISA attorney the next day. In the meantime, Borden sent all photos and evidence in her possession to HISA.

Balut said during his interview, which was recorded, the shoes had toe grabs he ground down before they were applied to Hot Rod Charlie.

The American Farriers Journal reported in May there was a shortage of shoes without grabs attributable to additional demand caused by impending HISA rules prohibiting grabs on all surfaces at all tracks. HISA delayed the implementation of its shoeing regulations as a result, according to that source.

Section 2276 of the HISA regulations say, "(a) Except for full rims 2 millimeters or less from the ground surface of the Horseshoe, traction devices are prohibited on forelimb and hindlimb Horseshoes during racing and training on dirt or synthetic racing tracks. (b) Traction devices are prohibited on forelimb and hindlimb Horseshoes during training and racing on the turf. (c) Traction devices include but are not limited to rims, toe grabs, bends, jar calks and stickers."

The finding by stewards of "sufficient evidence" that Hot Rod Charlie's shoes did not violate the regulation has legal implications. In the 1998 case of Burch v. Taylor Drug Store, the Kentucky Court of Appeals set out the standard of review in appeals of administrative actions, in that case a decision by the Kentucky Unemployment Insurance Commission.

"Judicial review of the acts of an administrative agency is concerned with the question of arbitrariness," the court wrote. "The findings of fact of an administrative agency which are supported by substantial evidence of probative value must be accepted as binding by the reviewing court. The court may not substitute its opinion as to the weight of the evidence given by the Commission."

Byron King also contributed to this story.