There’s going to be a whole lot of Gronks at Churchill Downs the first Saturday in May.
Rob Gronkowski, the New England Patriots tight end, bought a minority share in a horse named Gronkowski, who has qualified for the Kentucky Derby.
“This horse is a winner, and I love a winner,” Gronkowski, the human, said in a statement. “When I heard about the racehorse being named after me, I started watching and got really stoked when he started winning. He’s won his last three races and is now headed to the Derby. I’m all in: Welcome to the Gronk Family, Gronkowski the Horse!”
But Gronkowski, the horse, didn’t just start winning. He has been reliably lights out all through this racing season. After a second-place finish in the Novice Stakes in October, he has won his past four races, including the Kentucky Derby Conditions Stakes on March 7.
“I really can’t think of anything cooler than having a top-class thoroughbred named after me,” Gronkowski, the human, added. “Except maybe having him win the Derby.”
He is a wild card in the May 5 Derby with 80-1 odds, according to ESPN, which isn’t fantastic if you want to pick him to win, place or show, but could make for some wonderful prop bets. Such as: How many times will TV cameras catch Gronkowski, the human, shotgunning a beer? Will Tom Brady attend the Run for the Roses? And will the jockey’s silks have a Patriots logo on them?
So many questions. Only one horse. The Kentucky Derby is May 5.
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