Off the track, his owners have donated a portion of Hot Rod Charlie’s earnings to causes such as the Melanoma Research Alliance to honor O’Neill family members who had succumbed to the disease, as well as the Folds of Honor Foundation and the Jake Panus Walk-On Football Endowed Scholarship Fund at the University of South Carolina. Finishing in the money for five of his seven 2021 starts, Hot Rod Charlie tallied more than $2 million in earnings in 2021 and is poised for a sensational 4-year-old season in 2022. The Oxbow colt’s thrilling performances and his tenacity on the track endeared him to racing fans. Later in the year, Hot Rod Charlie answered an infamous disqualification in the TVG.com Haskell Stakes with a breathtaking comeback in the Pennsylvania Derby, his first graded stakes win.
Trained by Doug O’Neill and piloted by Flavien Prat, he was a surprise winner of the Louisiana Derby and later finished third in the Kentucky Derby and second in the Belmont Stakes, where his blistering fractions in the first quarter mile rivaled the record-setting pace set in 1973 by Secretariat. Hot Rod Charlie is owned in a partnership with Boat Racing LLC, Gainesway Stable, Roadrunner Racing, and William Strauss. Created by Secretariat’s owner Penny Chenery, the award annually recognizes the horse whose popularity and racing excellence best resounded with the general public and gained recognition for Thoroughbred racing.Įmerging as the favorite among the thousands of fans who voted in the year-end online poll, Hot Rod Charlie started the season as a longshot but consistently showed speed and determination that carried him through the Breeders’ Cup Classic. Horse racing fans have spoken, and they have chosen Hot Rod Charlie, the gutsy 3-year-old colt who was a force along the Triple Crown trail, as the winner of the 2021 Secretariat Vox Populi Award. ~ Penny Chenery, 2010 Hot Rod Charlie Wins 2021 Secretariat Vox Populi Award It is my hope that the Secretariat “Vox Populi” Award will be an honor that reflects the heart and soul of racing and will help build upon the devotion the public has for a horse they love.”
The industry is long overdue in annually acknowledging the star horse who brings the most excitement and attention to the sport.
But achievement can be measured in many ways, and fans occasionally feel a disconnect when the horses who most impacted the public are not recognized through the traditional equine awards. Horse racing already has established avenues to award outstanding accomplishments, and we certainly should honor superior performance.
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