Gronkowski is a

Thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed. Thoroughbreds are ...

racehorse (born in 2015) who came second in the 2018 Belmont Stakes and 2019

Dubai World Cup The Dubai World Cup (Arabic: كأس دبي العالمي) is a Thoroughbred horse race held annually since 1996 and contested at the Meydan Racecourse (Arabic: ميدان) which in Arabic suggests a place wh ...

. He is named after

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...

tight end The tight end (TE) is a position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football, on the offense. The tight end is often a hybrid position with the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a wide receiver. Lik ...

Rob Gronkowski Robert James Gronkowski (born May 14, 1989) is an American former football tight end who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 11 seasons. Nicknamed "Gronk", Gronkowski played nine seasons for the New England Patriots, then played h ...

, who is a minority owner of the horse.

Racing career

Gronkowski raced several times in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, and won the Burradon Stakes. He was then going to race in the

2018 Kentucky Derby The 2018 Kentucky Derby (officially, the 2018 Kentucky Derby presented by Woodford Reserve) was the 144th running of the Kentucky Derby, and took place on Saturday, May 5, 2018, in Louisville, Kentucky. The field was open to 20 horses, with a ...

, but pulled out due to a fever. He went to the

2018 Belmont Stakes The 2018 Belmont Stakes was the 150th running of the Belmont Stakes and the 107th time the event took place at Belmont Park. The race, known as the "test of the champion", is the final leg in the American Triple Crown. It is a Grade I stakes ...

instead where he finished second in the race with odds of 24.75 to 1. As a four-year-old, Gronkowski came second in the 2019 Dubai World Cup, losing to Thunder Snow by a nose.

References

2015 racehorse births Racehorses trained in the United Kingdom Racehorses trained in the United States Racehorses bred in the United States Thoroughbred family 9-f {{racehorse-stub