Hot Rod Charlie being run in Belmont in memory of Jake Panus

NEW YORK (AP) — Hot Rod Charlie is being run in the Belmont Stakes in memory of Jake Panus. The 16-year-old son of horse racing executive Stephen Panus died in a car crash in August. Stephen Panus’ friendship with trainer Doug O’Neill led to Hot Rod Charlie donning a saddle cloth with Jake’s initials and symbols of his life and goals. Jake Panus was devoted to helping Native American children and wanted to walk on as a football player at South Carolina. Hot Rod Charlie finished third in the Kentucky Derby and would bring even more awareness to a walk-on football scholarship Stephen Panus helped set up in his son’s name.