Spend the 2021 Belmont Stakes Presented by NYRA Bets with Patrick O’Neill and his Boat Racing partners as they cheer on Kentucky Derby third-place finisher Hot Rod Charlie, who carried the hopes of many on his back entering the “Test of the Champion.” Hot Rod Charlie set a blistering pace in the 1 ½-mile Belmoont Stakes and wore down all but one challenger as he ran a determined second to champion Essential Quality in a terrific runner-up effort for the partnership of Boat Racing, Gainesway Stable, Roadrunner Racing, and William Strauss.
In addition to his owners, trainer Doug O’Neill, and jockey Flavien Prat, Hot Rod Charlie was also racing for a great cause. He wore a special blanket during the Triple Crown, emblazoned on both sides with logos commemorating the life of Jake Panus, the 16-year-old son of ABR’s President Stephen Panus, whose life was tragically cut short last summer in a car accident.
The blanket spreads the word about two scholarships honoring Jake’s life: the logo of the bear represents the Red Shirt Table, an education initiative benefiting the children of the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation where Jake volunteered; and the South Carolina Gamecocks logo is for the Jake Panus Walk-On Football Endowed Scholarship, which was a dream of Jake’s.
