Rob Gronkowski buys a stake in namesake Kentucky Derby horse
Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski is making an offseason acquisition that shares his name and is headed for the Kentucky Derby.
Gronkowski, the All-Pro NFL star, is buying a minority stake in Gronkowski, a three-year-old colt who has a spot in the Run for the Roses May 5.
The tight end is working with Phoenix Thoroughbreds in the deal. Gronkowski the man told the Wall Street Journal he hopes to meet the horse the week of the Derby.
“I’ve never dealt with horses,’’ he said. “Hopefully I can get a ride on the horse.’’
When it was noted that a football player of his size — 6-foot-5, 265 pounds — might be too heavy for a horse that usually carries a jockey less than half his weight, Gronkowski said he’s open to ideas.
“That’s what I want to know,” he said. “I’m not trying to ride it for a full speed ride. I just want to get the feel of what it’s like to be on top of one. Maybe I’ll go for a full speed ride once I get comfortable.”
Gronkowski the horse won the Burradon Stakes at Newcastle, England, last month to earn a spot in the Derby.
Kerri Radcliffe, an English bloodstock agent who bought the horse for Phoenix Thoroughbreds in April 2017, said the horse is named after the man because “he looks like a tight end.’’
“He’s massive,’’ she told the Globe last month. “He’s got a lot of presence, got a lot of presence.’’
Radcliffe has been a Patriots fan “ever since I saw Tom Brady run on the pitch without a helmet on,’’ but “Brady’’ just didn’t seem as apt a name for the big, muscular bay. At a girthy 6 feet 5 inches, Gronkowski is built like his namesake.
