It's Impossible Not To Cheer For Derby Contender Hot Rod Charlie When You Find Out About His Owners And Background Story

I've talked about the ancillary characters around horse racing that make the sport so damn fun for me. I'm talking the usher that knows the ins and outs of every race who has worked at a track for 40 years. At the same time it feels like every year around Triple Crown time we get some owner story that everyone attaches to. Well let me attach my name to one. Hot Rod Charlie. Why? The owners are basically us. 

What do I mean by that? The 5 guys who make up Boat Racing are frat bros and former football players from Brown. Shit, they came up with the name Boat Racing because of drinking (h/t HRN)

As for the name they chose for their partnership, it stems from a beer-chugging game they played (apparently often) as Theta Delta Chi frat brothers. Perhaps O’Neill has some explaining to do.

“We tried to think of something that unified us,” he said. “Honestly, all we could think of — it’s not the most mature name we could come up with — was Boat Racing.”

 Right off the bat those are dudes I want to hang out in the winners circle with. You know if they win the Derby they are having a HELL of a party. I don't need some stuffy old guy in the circle. Give me 5 bros from Brown who are looking to get fucked up and enjoy the night. Sure, I understand it's *just* 25% ownership, but guess what? That's still ownership. That's still in the winners circle if Hot Rod Charlie gets home next Saturday. 

But then there's more. You may notice the South Carolina logo and Running for Jake. That alone could be a story. It's the Jake Panus Walk-On Football Endowed Scholarship at South Carolina. Jake was a diehard South Carolina fan who passed away at the age of 16. The money raised goes towards a scholarship in his name for the football program. We're 2-for-2 on reasons to cheer for Hot Rod Charlie alone here. 

So how did Hot Rod Charlie get here? Well, he won the Louisiana Derby and is 2nd in the points standings heading into the Derby. 

Oh and it also helps that one of the guys in the group is related to Doug and Dennis O'Neil. Pretty big name in the horse racing world.  

Patrick O’Neill, a 2015 Brown graduate who now serves as vice president for sales and strategic partnerships at Founder Sport Group, leads the newbie ownership entity. He surely belongs as the nephew of Doug O’Neill, who trained Derby winners I’ll Have Another (2012) and Nyquist (2016)

Fuck it I was all in on Midnight Bourbon for creating havoc after not wanting a bath. I was all in on Known Agenda because I think he's a damn good horse. I'm now officially all in on Hot Rod Charlie, who is a favorite to win the Derby. Yeah, he's not Essential Quality, but we see upsets in the Derby. Hot Rod Charlie will go off as one of the three favorites. You throw a couple dudes who just like to have a good time, talk about drinking and hanging out, I'm gonna cheer for you. That's a promise.