Feld and Brothers are longstanding regulars at Charlie Brown's. The cozy, pub-like spot has been in the hands of David Fuller for almost 40 years. When Fuller decided to retire this year, he passed it on to longtime manager and bartender Chris Behler and two of his favorite patrons.

“We had always joked that we would like to own it one day and last summer we were told that we possibly could,” Feld said.

“Dave reached out to us one day and said it was time to pass on the torch,” explained Brothers.  “We were very honored to be given the opportunity. It's a neighborhood institution.”

The restaurant first opened in 1973 and was originally called The Rusty Nail. Feld said that the upstairs was an upscale dining spot and the downstairs was a bar. A dumbwaiter would take food between floors. When Fuller purchased the restaurant with partner Larry Ellington, they concentrated to the first floor and leased out the top floor, where a Mexican restaurant called Papi's is now located.

Now in its 50^th year of operation, the atmosphere in the Euclid Avenue hangout is unlike anything else in town. Decades-old books line the walls,  plenty of sofas are interspersed throughout the space and a fire roars in the corner. The pet-friendly patio out back is bustling in the summer.

“This place is special because all ages can come,” said Feld. “We've got the richest people in Lexington coming and we've got students that can't rub two pennies together. It's a hodgepodge of society and everyone has a good time.”

“It's a major part of the community and with Dave on this for 40 years, every inch of this place screams him,” Brothers added. “We wanted to continue his legacy. I think that's why Dave entrusted us with this place. We feel like the people in this community really respect the vibe and the atmosphere, so we don't plan on changing anything. If you're here for this long, if it's not broke don't fix it.”

Popular menu items include the Bacon Cheddar Burger, Emily's Chicken Sandwich and the Roast Beef Sandwich.

“I love the Bacon Cheddar Burger,” said Brothers. “It's one of the best burgers in town. I'm also a big fan of the Patty Melt and then we have soups that are made daily.”

Both Feld and Brothers plan to stay involved in racing.

Feld is the managing director of Climax Stallions and Feld Family Racing and is also the founder of At The Sale and Foal Adventure. He can now add line cook to his resume.

As for Brothers, who owns Xavier International Bloodstock and is the co-founder of StableDuel, he said he plans he stay at the front of the house.

Come celebrate St. Patrick's Day at Charlie Brown's and eat this homemade Guinness Stew and Colcannon paired with a cheddar biscuit! pic.twitter.com/5zgvVjW3rH

— Charlie Browns (@CBsLexington) March 17, 2023

“The cooking part, I would probably eat too much of it,” he said with a laugh. “I got fired from my uncle's restaurant when I was a kid for eating the bread coming out of the oven. So I'm better in the front, but the beauty of having two of your best friends as partners is we back each other up with everything we do and we have no problem getting dirty. We have no problem cooking or cleaning tables or anything. I like continually challenging myself and starting something new, so when this opportunity came around it was actually perfect because I was wanting a little change of pace.”

With the Keeneland race meet starting on Friday, the new restauranteurs said that they hope Charlie Brown's will flourish as a hangout spot for the equine community in Lexington.

“It's a great place to watch horse racing,” said Brothers. “You'll always have someone at the bar that has a Form or an iPad out betting on some horse. And it's all ages.”

“When I was cooking the other night,  a bunch of my horse friends came in and took up about a quarter of the bar,” Feld said. “It's a great spot to hang out whether you like horses or not. We're excited with Keeneland coming up and hoping we'll get a bunch of people before, during and after the races. We actually had a bunch of people here to watch the Dubai World Cup and hopefully down the line we'll have a Royal Ascot party or two as well.”

Visit Charlie Brown's Restaurant and Lounge's website for the full menu and hours here.

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“He came back from Dubai in great shape and we intentionally gave him a little extended time between then and now,” said the 4-year-old colt's trainer Doug O'Neill. “He's training with great energy and good stamina. I'm really optimistic about the Salvator Mile being a good stepping stone for the rest of the year. We have the Breeders' Cup Classic at Keeneland circled as our ultimate goal.”

While Hot Rod Charlie will indubitably have a sizeable cheering section at Monmouth this weekend from a partnership that includes Roadrunner Racing, Boat Racing, Strauss Bros Racing and Gainesway Thoroughbreds, another group of 'Charlie' fans will be watching from back home in Goshen, Kentucky.

Hot Rod Charlie was foaled and raised at Hermitage Farm, a 700-acre commercial Thoroughbred nursery outside of Louisville with a rich history of raising top-class racehorses. The close-knit equine team at Hermitage has kept tabs on the star colt throughout his career.

“We have a text chain that we're all on so we know when to watch,” said Hermitage's farm manager Brian Knippenberg. “With Charlie being on the world stage, I don't think I can even explain how important he is to us. This business can be difficult, so these are the kinds of things that keep us going.”

Hot Rod Charlie's dam Indian Miss (Indian Charlie) was a third-generation broodmare for the late Edward A. Cox Jr., a longstanding Hermitage client. Just one day after Hot Rod Charlie was foaled, the colt's half-brother and future 2019 Eclipse Champion Male Sprinter Mitole (Eskendereya) won his first stakes race.

One of 30-some foals to arrive at Hermitage in the spring 2018, Hot Rod Charlie might stick out slightly in the memories of those who worked with him daily.

“He was deathly ill as a foal,” Knippenberg explained. “He had a pretty serious intestinal infection. We had three foals with the same issue. The other two got over it quickly, but Charlie had a really hard time of it.”

While some foals may have quickly gone sour from receiving constant treatment, Hot Rod Charlie was always a good patient and slowly, he began to improve.

“He let us do what we needed to do to get him well,” Knippenberg said. “He is quite a testament to the clinic that helped us with him and to the people here on the farm who took such good care of him, because obviously he made a full recovery. I think that heart and determination he had then is what got him to where he is today.”

While the blaze-faced weanling continued to improve steadily, his breeder faced a terminal illness. When Cox decided to disperse of his stock at the 2018 fall breeding stock sales, Hermitage's longtime general manager Bill Landes encouraged him to keep the one colt behind.

“Landes told him to wait with selling Charlie because one, this horse had a really exciting family coming up and two, he would need as much time as possible,” Knippenberg recalled.

A few weeks before Cox passed away, Hot Rod Charlie was sold at the 2019 Fasig-Tipton Kentucky February Mixed Sale, where he brought just $17,000. He was sent to auction again in October and, having continued to blossom with time, sold to Dennis O'Neill for $110,000.

Flash forward almost three years, and the talented colt has earned over $5.1 million and is now pointing for a repeat appearance in the GI Breeders' Cup Classic.

“Having a horse like Hot Rod Charlie is such an inspiration and a morale booster,” said Melissa Cozart, the Equine Operations Manager at Hermitage. “It re-energizes everybody because we all get so excited when we have a good horse. Our staff is so involved in the success of each of these horses and they follow them all once they leave here and go into their racing careers.”

An Ongoing Tradition of Success

Blaze-faced Hot Rod Charlie as a foal | photo courtesy Hermitage Farm

Established as a Thoroughbred nursery in the mid-1930's by Warner L. Jones, Hermitage Farm has been associated with a myriad of notable horses including 1953 GI Kentucky Derby winner Dark Star, 1967 Kentucky Oaks victress Nancy Jr. and 1988 Breeders' Cup Juvenile winner Is It True, a son of Hermitage's leading sire Raja Baba.

Hermitage dispersed of their stallions shortly after Is It True's racing career, opting to focus on growing their commercial nursery. Today, they foal out around 35 mares each year and their program includes broodmares, foals, yearlings, layups and rehab cases. Along with Hot Rod Charlie and Mitole, 3-year-old champion and young sire West Coast also once called Hermitage home in recent years.

“Hermitage Farm is unique in that it is one of the only commercial Thoroughbred farms in the Louisville, Kentucky area,” Cozart explained. “We have several clients here in Louisville that want to be close to their horses so they have chosen us as a boarding operation. We work diligently to keep up with everything that is going on in Lexington. We have access to exceptional veterinary care and to the major sale companies and their advising, so we really are a full-service, all-around facility that offers a service for everyone.”

Cozart said that the group of broodmares at Hermitage is made up of an approximate 50-50 split between client-owned and Hermitage-owned mares. They have several exciting Hermitage-bred racehorses in the pipeline this summer including Efficiency (Gun Runner), a Klaravich Stables-owned 3-year-old who broke his maiden at Belmont last month by 11 lengths, as well as Cadillac Candy (Twirling Candy), a juvenile filly who recently broke her maiden at Churchill Downs.

The New Hermitage Farm

A peak into the dining experience at Barn8 | Katie Petrunyak

Hermitage Farm was purchased over a decade ago by Steve Wilson and Laura Lee Brown, the entrepreneurs behind the 21c Museum Hotel brand. Since then, the famed property's recognition has grown to a wider audience as it has transformed into a tourist destination.

First, the farm's new owners put Hermitage in agricultural easement, ensuring it will remain farmland for many years to come.

While continuing to grow the Thoroughbred division of the farm, a sport horse division was added. Co-owner Steve Wilson is a four-time champion competitive carriage driver and founded the Kentucky Classic, a marquee event for Combined Driving Event competitors that takes place every other year at Hermitage Farm.

Two years ago, Hermitage Farm's Barn8 restaurant officially opened for business. One of the farm's original barns retained its name and was transformed into a restaurant and bourbon bar that presents a farm-to-table dining experience and a constantly-rotating menu.

“The basic concept of Barn8 is not necessarily Southern food or Kentucky food,” explained Executive Chef Allison Settle. “It's more of making sure that we are a part of the solution to factory farming and overdevelopment, as well as making sure we are providing the season's bounty and accentuating what is good during a particular period. Our philosophy is about making sure that we're providing sustenance as a means to continue farming in the area.”

A sprawling greenhouse adjacent to the restaurant provides much of the produce and herbs served to guests. Settle explained that if the greenhouse's eggplant is ripe for harvest one week, it might be used in an Asian-inspired entree one night and then a Mediterranean lamb-stuffed eggplant the next. Barn8 also partners with farms in the surrounding area to bring in additional locally-grown products.

Settled added that Barn8 is more than just a dining experience.

“We have tours, tastings, mixology classes and pretty much everything that Kentucky does well, we do it here,” Settle said. “We want you to feel comfortable here, it's not stuffy. I think people find it to be a little bit of a vacation.”

Guests can dine at tables running down the main aisle of the barn or enjoy a more private experience at one of the tables in a stall. Some of the stall doors are adorned with the nameplates of Hermitage Farm's most famed broodmares.

Before sitting down to a meal, visitors can tag along on one of the various tours, which range from an art walk and a bourbon tasting experience to a tour of the equine facility. Hermitage's farm store offers farm-grown products, bourbons from around Kentucky and locally-made kitchen utensils and cooking items.

“Hermitage Farm is a really incredible place simply because of the vision of our ownership,” Settle said. “I think what's truly special is that there isn't really an agritourism project like this in the area or maybe even in Kentucky. There is only one place that I'm aware of that if you come to Louisville and you want to see horses, drink really good bourbon and learn about what Kentucky does well, this is the place to go.”

It took a period of adjustment, Cozart admitted, for the Thoroughbred division of Hermitage to acclimate to the many new changes, but she said they are excited about sharing their passion for the industry with new faces every day.

“In recent years, agritourism has become a huge part of Kentucky Thoroughbred breeding farms,” she said. “You're engaging a whole new demographic of people that may not otherwise be exposed to racing. People seem to have a better understanding of where these horses come from once they've seen it, rather than just relying on the public perception of the industry.”

As the farm shares its story to an expanding list of visitors from around the world, and with a horse like Hot Rod Charlie vying for a top position in his division this year, Hermitage Farm's famed legacy not only holds steadfast, but continues to grow.

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For many visitors, it will be their first time in town in two years, so we paid a visit to some of the newest and most popular restaurants downtown to give an early taste to sales-goers who might be looking to discover something new during their time in Lexington.

Horse and Jockey -15 Minutes from Keeneland

131 Cheapside St. Lexington, KY 40507

Horse and Jockey Pub and Kitchen, a traditional Irish gastropub, is located in the heart of downtown Lexington. The restaurant has quickly garnered positive reviews amongst the local horse racing community and the racing-themed decor further lends itself to that clientele.

Paul Murphy, a native of Scotland who spent most of his childhood and young adult life in Ireland, moved to New York 20 years ago. He and his partner, Jimmy McSweeney, had a dream of starting up a restaurant in Lexington.

They found an old night club on Main Street that looked promising, but when they came to town for a visit, quickly realized there was no proper place to add a kitchen. As they were strolling through the streets of downtown afterwards, they came across the building now known as Horse and Jockey.

“The place had just closed,” Murphy recalled. “There was paper on the windows but I looked in and said, 'Wow, this could make a nice speakeasy-type place.' So we got in touch with the landlord and he walked us through the next morning. It was pretty much a done deal right there.”

As for the name, while obviously reminiscent of the famed Horse and Jockey Hotel in Tipperary, Murphy said when he moved to Queens two decades ago, the first bar in his neighborhood that he visited was also called Horse and Jockey.

“Everybody can understand where it's coming from,” he explained. “We figured there were already a couple of Irish bars downtown, but none of them had any food. So we figured that would be our niche-a traditional Irish menu.”

After four months of renovation, Horse and Jockey opened its doors in January of 2020. Five weeks later, they were forced to shut down due to the Coronavirus pandemic. But the new eatery came back with a vengeance this June.

“It has been so busy,” Murphy said. “Luckily we have a good staff and a lot of them stayed on. It was a tough year for everybody and thankfully the people downtown and the local community have come in and it's been great. We've made a lot of friends.”

Murphy said some of their menu's best-selling items include fish and chips, bangers and mash and curry cheese fries. Another popular dish, Shepherd's Pie, is made daily by Murphy's wife.

'A hundred thousands welcomes' greet guests seated at Horse and Jockey's outdoor patio. | Katie Ritz

“It's as good as you'll get back in Ireland,” he said proudly. “We also do a burger with Irish bacon on it. A lot of people ask why we don't have American bacon, but this is our thing. We're trying to stick to our traditional menu.”

First-time guests have plenty of options upon visiting. Aside from the main indoor dining area, the restaurant also has an outdoor patio as well as an upstairs covered patio that features both a bourbon and a gin bar.

The menu offers a wide array of drink selections, from beers on tap to an expansive wine list and various cocktails. All of the herbs used in the drinks–mint, rosemary, lavender and basil–are grown in-house.

“The overall atmosphere on any night is busy,” Murphy said. “We have live music on Thursday nights and we have a big screen where we will show horse racing or whatever sporting event is on. There's a good buzz around the place. Everybody enjoys themselves.”

The first thing that catches any guest's eye, according Murphy, is the artwork.

Before the Horse and Jockey opened for business last year, Murphy and his partner hired Kate Lossen to help design the space. Lossen was also the curator of the collection from famed Eclipse Award-winning photographer Tony Leonard. She provided the photographs that now grace nearly every inch of wall space at Horse and Jockey.

“I think we have maybe 300 and something pictures, but they're all from Tony Leonard,” Murphy said. “Some of them are really, really unique, like we have a picture of Secretariat sitting down. There are even pictures from Ireland that he took. They're all dated and have a description of who is in the photo, so a lot of horse people come in and want to take a look.”

Other popular photos from the collection include a shot of Leslie Combs with stallions Swaps and Nashua at Spendthrift Farm, Mary Lou Whitney in the paddock at Keeneland, and an enlarged photo from 1952 that covers an entire wall and depicts mule-drawn sledges working up the track at Keeneland.

“Steve Cauthen's brother was here and said he thought there might be a picture of him,” Murphy recalled. “We looked and found a picture of Steve when he won an Eclipse Award and his brother was in it too. That was really unique, but a lot of people from the horse business come in. People from Coolmore, Darley, Shadwell, all the big horse farms, they come in to watch the racing and have Irish breakfast. They'll chat amongst themselves and they can remember everything about the horses in the pictures-when they were foaled, how much they sold for and who trained them.”

Murphy said that Breeders' Cup week last November was a busy time at the restaurant with visits from Frankie Dettori as well as some of the owners of Classic winner Authentic (Into Mischief).

“The good think about Lexington is that there's a lot of different types of restaurants that you can go to, but everybody has their own thing, their own niche,” he said. “Our niche is traditional Irish food. For people in the horse business coming into town who stop by, they'll first be intrigued by the pictures and then they'll all know each other and start talking about horses, which is great. I love listening to them.”

Several other new spots have launched in downtown Lexington recently, many of which offer a bit of horse racing flare.

Frank and Dino's -16 Minutes from Keeneland

271 W Short St. Lexington, KY 40507

A racehorse owner, trainer and breeder by day and a restaurant owner by night, Carlo Vaccarezza is a man who wears many hats. The native of Italy has lived in the U.S. for over half a decade now, making a name for himself in the country with homebred Little Mike (Spanish Steps), winner of the 2012 Breeders' Cup Turf, among others.

While his passion is horse racing, Vaccarezza is also involved in the restaurant business. Frank and Dino's, a nod to Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin, opened its first location in Boca Raton, Florida. This July, a second restaurant is set to launch in Lexington.

With an atmosphere aimed to be reminiscent of Italian-American culture in the post-war 1950s, guests can expect a lively, classy setting where they can sit back and enjoy authentic Italian cuisine. Along with an array of pasta entrees, the menu will also feature Italian fish and chicken dishes, salads and appetizers.

Greyline Station -15 Minutes from Keeneland

In the 1940s, the Greyline Station building was home to the headquarters for Southeastern Greyhound, Lexington's largest private employer. | Keeneland

101 W Loudon Ave. Lexington, KY 40508

Built in 1928, the 65,000 square foot building now known as Greyline Station was once the company headquarters for Southeastern Greyhound Lines. The structure has been mostly vacant since 1960 and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2014. Four years later, the complex was given a makeover and modernized into what is now Greyline Station.

The building, now transformed into Lexington's first public marketplace, is home to dozens of restaurants and shops as well as an event space. Popular dining spots in the complex include The Breeze Wine Bar, which features international chocolates along with wines and spirits, North Lime Coffee and Donuts, a well-loved stop for Lexington residents, Porterhouse BBQ, Rise Up Pizza and more. A 'sip and stroll' license in the building allows visitors to grab a drink before exploring the diverse group of merchants.

ItalX–17 Minutes from Keeneland

Spaghetti Carbonara-Guanciale, egg yolk and Pecorino with housemade pasta–at ItalX. | ItalX Facebook

160 W Main St. Lexington, KY 50407

Quality is the word of the day at ItalX, where the menu is inspired by Italy's emphasis on simple, fresh, quality ingredients. Everything offered is made in-house daily-from hand-made pastas to velvety desserts. ItalX, housed in the downtown City Center development, was officially launched last October by award-winning chef and Lexington native Jonathan Lundy alongside partner TJ Cox.

Popular dishes include the Pizza Fritta appetizer with oven-roasted tomato, basil and burrata, the Candele Cacio e Pepe entree, made with toasted black pepper and Pecorino Reggiano and offered with or without truffles, and of course for dessert, Tiramisu al Marsala. An extensive wine selection is housed in a temperature-controlled wine room.

Jeff Ruby's-17 Minutes from Keeneland

The line of lawn jockeys outside of Jeff Ruby's Steakhouse displays many well-known and prominent silks. | Katie Ritz

101 W Vine St. Lexington, KY 40507

Jeff Ruby's Steakhouse opened its highly-anticipated Lexington location in the spring of 2019. With restaurants already established in Cincinnati, Nashville, Louisville and Columbus, the fine-dining company is regarded amongst food critiques for offering one the best steakhouses in the country.

A prominent restaurateur, Jeff Ruby is also known for his love of horse racing. He has been a partner in several graded stakes winners over the years and his company's logo is displayed on the pants of several top jockeys in the U.S.

Ruby was thrilled to launch his fifth location by pulling out all the stops to create a Lexington-themed atmosphere centered around bourbon, (Thoroughbred) breeding and basketball. A long line of lawn jockeys welcomes guests entering the establishment and a horseshoe-shaped bar sits in front of the stage that often features live music. Several signature rooms are graced with equine touches, including one private room specifically geared towards horse racing enthusiasts.

For more on where to stay, what to do and what's new in Lexington, click here. 

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The Daily Gazette newspaper in New York's capitol region first broke the story Monday.

Scott R. Solomon, 35, of Cohoes, turned himself in to face an arrest warrant last Thursday, the Gazette reported, adding that Saratoga Springs police afterward released him on his own recognizance.

“Solomon faces two counts of second-degree forgery, one involving an official document and one involving legal documents such as contracts, two counts of second-degree possession of a forged instrument, and two counts of first-degree offering a false instrument for filing. All are felonies that could result in state prison time,” the Gazette reported.

Police told the Gazette they “started an investigation in August because there were concerns about paperwork Solomon had filed with the city in an effort to get a permit needed to open Siro's, which traditionally has only been open each year only during the few weeks of the Thoroughbred racing season…. City officials ordered it closed after reports that it was either open or hosting private events despite not having its permit.”

Even after the filing of the allegedly forged documents, the popular Lincoln Avenue watering hole still didn't get its permit and never officially opened to the public in 2020, the Gazette reported.

The paper continued: “This week's arrest is the latest trouble for Solomon, who last September was arrested by state police after an investigation into misappropriation of money from Albany Mayor Kathy Sheehan's election campaign, for which he was an aide. He faces multiple counts of grand larceny and possession of a forged instrument in that case…. Solomon also faced felony larceny charges earlier this year for allegedly writing [$54,000] in bad checks.”

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After following a roundabout encircling a giant bronze statue of Secretariat, a 16.9 mile historic road called Old Frankfort Pike twists and turns alongside ancient limestone rock walls and fenceline that holds some of the best Thoroughbred breeding stock in the country.

The byway connecting Lexington and Frankfort has been named one of ‘America’s Most Outstanding Scenic Byways’ and is often referred to as ‘Thoroughbred Alley’- a nod to the industry that has been a part of the area’s history even before Kentucky was admitted to the Union in 1792. Three Chimneys, Darby Dan, Darley America, Lane’s End, and Stonestreet are just a few of the imposing gates tourists often slow beside to take a snapshot, leaving the locals shaking their heads at the habitual delay.

About halfway between the two cities, just outside of Midway and past Three Chimneys Farm, sits an aged but well-preserved building, an antique in a postcard from a bygone century. For many that pass, it receives nothing more than a glance. But on a warm, sunny day, a line stretching out the door and around the corner indicates that the place is worth notice.

The building that is home to Wallace Station has received a spot on the National Register for Historic Places, but the restaurant itself has won the praise of both Lexington natives and world-renowned culinary professionals.

Wallace Station had its biggest claim-to-fame when it was featured on Guy Fieri’s Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives, but most days, guests include various staff from nearby farms relaxing on their lunch break.

Owner Ouita Michel is world-renowned for the family of restaurants she has built in Lexington over the past two decades. Her businesses have been featured in the New York Times, Southern Living, and the Food Network. But Michel said she believes that the horse racing community is the heartbeat of Wallace Station.

Michel was born and raised in Lexington, but she said that her true introduction to the world of Thoroughbreds didn’t happen until she moved back to the heart of horse country after a stint in New York City and was introduced to a certain horse racing ambassador upon her return.

“To be honest, I didn’t know much about the Thoroughbred industry until I moved to Midway about 20 years ago,” Michel said. “I started learning the history from Michael Blowen, who owns Old Friends (equine retirement farm). Michael and his wife Diane moved to Midway the same year as my husband and I. They were some of our very first customers, and Michael gave me an education in Thoroughbred history. It was amazing to know right where we were living was where it all started.”

Michel grew up downtown on State Street. Her father was a professor at the University of Kentucky’s medical school. Michel would grow up to become a Kentucky Wildcat, making a name for herself on campus by winning the National Debate Tournament her senior year. From there, she made the move to New York City.

“My family really wanted me to go to law school,” she recalled. “But I got my first restaurant job in New York City, and the rest is history.”Michel honed her new trade for several years in Manhattan, working at various restaurants and attending the Culinary Institute of America. While there, she met her husband Chris.

“I came back to Kentucky to plan my wedding. My mom was so worried we were going to have a New York wedding. She begged me to come home,” Michel said with a laugh.

Upon her return, Michel said she knew immediately that Kentucky was where she belonged.

“Once I got back to Lexington, I just really loved it,” she said. “I loved how accessible everything was. I also had a strong feeling that when I owned a restaurant, I wanted to cook for people that I knew and loved, for my family and my friends.”

To read the rest of this story at the TDN Look, or to watch the video or hear it as a podcast, click here.

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