Five Brown football alumni stay connected through one of the world’s top racehorses

Patrick O'Neill's uncle Doug is a world-renowned thoroughbred racehorse trainer. Patrick's late grandfather was a regular at a Detroit track called Detroit Race Course. Doug and Dennis O’Neill fell in love with horse racing at an early age. They are now professional racehorses trainers and bloodstock agents. Patrick formed Boat Racing LLC with Alex Quoyeser, Reiley Higgins, Eric Armagost, Dan Giovacchini and Eric. Higgins played defensive back for the Brown football team. Boat racing LLC's horse Hot Rod Charlie won third place at the Kentucky Derby this month.

Boat Racing LLC is a group of former Brown football players who want to keep their close-knit group together. Patrick O'Neill, Dennis Quoyeser, Doug and Higgins are involved in the organization. Patrick attended the Kentucky Derby in 2012. The group wants to use horse racing as an avenue to solidify their bonds. They don't want it to be financially viable. It's a way to spend more time together and keep the group close. For them, the beauty of the sport intoxicated them. Their main aim is to stay connected. "The competitiveness intoxicated us. We gravitated toward the horses and the trainers and jockeys," Quoyser said.

Boat Racing LLC had limited success with their first two horses. They bought Hot Rod Charlie from a baby sale. HotRod Charlie won his first maiden race and was invited to the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile. He came second in the race. He will qualify for the Kentucky Derby next year. Horses that run in Triple Crown races are always three-years-old. The Breeder's Cup is the toughest competition for all two-year-olds male horses and is essentially an inside look into what will be the rising crop for Kentucky Derbys. It is held in September 2020. There are points attached to prep races or races prior to Triple crown.

Hot Rod Charlie did not race in the Preakness Stakes. He will rest for five weeks before the Belmont Stake. Hot Rod is trained in Southern California by Doug O'Neill, Patrick's uncle. The horse is owned by three separate investors. The group treats the horse like an animal. It is more invested emotionally than financially. They love him like a dog. His owner, Boat Racing LLC, owns 25 percent of him. Bill Strauss owns another 25%. Roadrunner Racing owns the remaining 50 percent. For Patrick O’Neill it is important to treat the horses well.