This is a pretty big week for beasts name Gronkowski. New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski arrived at the team's mandatory minicamp after an offseason of speculation and uncertainty, and Gronkowski the horse will race at the Belmont Stakes on Saturday.
Of course, the tight end is a co-owner of the horse, who has a chance to spoil Justify's bid for the Triple Crown at Belmont Park on Saturday. The odds of that happening are quite slim, but the Patriots star is keeping faith in his European thoroughbred.
"We're trying to go for the win," Gronkowski told Sports Illustrated. "You've always heard so many stories where the underdog wins, you just never know. Maybe my horse found a niche on how to get faster somewhere down the line in the last couple of weeks. Maybe when he got sick and missed the Kentucky Derby, for some reason it gave him extra powers, and now that he recovered he might be even faster."
Ah, yes, the ol' "extra powers" that often bless race horses. Of course.
As it stands, Gronkowski the horse has 12-1 odds in the 150th running of the Belmont Stakes, giving him the seventh-best odds in the field of nine. Justify leads the pack at 4-5 odds.
Despite the long-shot probability of Gronk's horse winding up in the winner's circle, he has reason to believe.
Deep down, Gronk the person just knows that the stars are aligned for Gronk the horse. Not only were the early odds 69–1, his favorite number because of its secondary meaning, but the race is run on June 9 (6/9), a date he's dubbed the Official Gronk National Holiday. "I can't even explain that coincidence," he laughs. "It's just wild."
With that in mind, it should be a pretty nice day at the track regardless of where the horse finishes in the race.
