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As rumors swirl surrounding Rob Gronkowski’s future as a football player, the New England Patriots tight end seems to largely be ignoring the speculation and taking full advantage of the offseason. He’s spent much of his time focusing on things outside of football, including stopping by hospitals to visit fans and working on improving his sick dirt biking skills.
He’s also taken some steps to diversify his investment portfolio, which he did last week when he bought a stake in a Kentucky Derby dark horse named “Gronkowski” (because when you have millions of dollars in your bank account, you might as well occasionally have some fun with it).
Gronkowski (the horse, not the person), was an unofficial 30-1 underdog when the transaction was announced, and he suffered a major setback yesterday when his trainers announced they were withdrawing the thoroughbred from the race due to a minor infection (he is on antibiotics and apparently recovering well).
Gronkowski (the person, not the horse) reacted to the news and fully supported the decision.
It’s unfortunate Gronkowski the horse will not be able to race in the upcoming Kentucky Derby due to an illness. I fully support what is best for the horse. I know he will come back strong and healthy and I am excited to see him race again very soon.
— Rob Gronkowski (@RobGronkowski) April 23, 2018
While I assume there’s some rule preventing this, I’m of the firm belief that Gronk should be allowed to run the race in place of his horse on Derby Day for no reason other than the sheer spectacle alone. I’m assuming he can’t run a mile-and-a-quarter in two minutes, and while I’m not sure how much of a crossover there is between NFL enthusiasts and fair weather horse racing fans, you can’t tell me NBC would be hurting their ratings.
Here’s to hoping the equine Gronkowski doesn’t end up getting injured as often has his namesake.