Three-time Super Bowl-winning Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce has bought an ownership stake in a racehorse named Swift Delivery.
Team Valor International founder and CEO Barry Irwin announced Tuesday that Kelce and the Zoldan family recently acquired a significant share of the 3-year-old gelding.
Kelce has been dating pop star Taylor Swift for roughly a year, appearing at several of her concerts during “The Eras Tour." Swift has been a prominent fan at many of Kelce's NFL games over that time.
“It’s very exciting,” Irwin told The Associated Press in a phone interview. “I met him at the Kentucky Derby and got to spend some time with him and stuff, and we talked about horses and everything. When this horse came to light and it was owned by one of my partners already, with the name I figured this has got to be a no-brainer.”
Irwin said the horse was not named after Swift — just “a total coincidence." He added Kelce has been a part owner for about a month and on Tuesday gave permission to reveal his involvement.
Kelce is friends with Phantom Fireworks CEO Bruce Zoldan's son, Alex. The Zoldan family has a long history in horse racing, including an interest in 2011 Derby winner Animal Kingdom.
Kelce is the latest professional athlete to get involved in the sport in an ownership capacity. Retired World Series winner Jayson Werth is a partial owner of Belmont Stakes winner Dornoch, and hockey player Erik Johnson has had shares of horses, some named after teammates and friends around the NHL, for several years.
Swift Delivery has won his past two starts, each at Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto, after finishing no better than third in his first six. Trainer Mark Casse was wowed by the horse's first victory and said “the sky could be the limit for him.”
“He’s a horse that we always thought a lot of, and he just didn’t perform — and now he’s performing,” Casse said by phone Tuesday. “This horse is good. He’s good right now, and he has the potential to go on and do big things.”
Swift Delivery, ridden by jockey Patrick Husbands, is set to make his next start Saturday in a 1-mile race at Woodbine. Irwin said partner Gary Barber wanted to enter the horse in a more lucrative, $3.2 million race at Kentucky Downs before agreeing to this path instead.
AP horse racing: https://apnews.com/hub/horse-racing
Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce (87) warms up before an NFL preseason football game against the Detroit Lions Saturday, Aug. 17, 2024, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Sam Darnold enjoyed a valuable reset last season of a sputtering NFL career painted by the unfulfilled expectations of a quarterback from a prestigious college program drafted third overall.
It was a burden-free year with the San Francisco 49ers to be the backup while continuing to learn the league, his position and himself. The Minnesota Vikings enjoyed an immediate benefit from this new version of Darnold in a dominant season-opening performance.
He's aiming to use those off-the-field gains against the 49ers this week. Darnold's home debut for the Vikings will come on Sunday afternoon, with his former team paying a visit.
“I learned so much last year,” Darnold said. “Just being able to learn every single game plan and study throughout the week, I think that was the biggest takeaway that I had, with all the different things that we had to know as quarterbacks going into a game."
After going 13-25 as the starter for the New York Jets over his first three NFL seasons, Darnold was traded to the Carolina Panthers in 2021. He only found further instability around him, leading to more injuries and more interceptions.
Last year, he put his starting aspiration on hold to join the well-oiled operation under 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan — and supported Brock Purdy all the way to the Super Bowl.
“He helped me tremendously with my prep and we all bounced ideas off each other and what we could get and what we need to be aware of,” Purdy said. “Sam contributed so much to our success as a team, man.”
Darnold had his own enlightenment about the pressure — both real and imagined — he experienced in New York when he entered the league in 2018 from USC.
“When you’re at quarterback, I feel like a lot of times you can feel everything kind of collapsing on you, not just in the game, but theoretically, like, as a whole,” Darnold said. “If things aren’t going your way, you can feel the weight of the world a little bit. At the end of the day, it’s your job to just put the ball in your playmakers' hands and let them go run and make a play.
"I think it’s as simple as that sometimes.”
With the Vikings, Darnold's bridge assignment was cemented as a full-season gig when J.J. McCarthy suffered a season-ending knee injury last month.
“I was hoping he’d find no good spots and come back here,” Shanahan said. "But I was happy for him he got this opportunity because Sam more than deserves it. Sam is a starting quarterback in this league and he should run with it.”
The arm strength and processing speed were never in question, but coach Kevin O'Connell and the rest of the coaches and players have been impressed by how naturally Darnold has taken to the complex scheme, improved his footwork and fit in with a new team.
“If you give Sam some time in the drop-back game, just throwing the ball, he’s going to make the right read and throw a nice ball,” Vikings running back Aaron Jones said. “He’s really slept on, so we’re glad to have him. At the end of the season, we’ll look up and there’ll be a lot people talking about him.”
Darnold was 19 of 24 for 208 yards, two touchdowns, one sack and one interception against the New York Giants. The 44-yard pass to Justin Jefferson he threaded along the sideline during a 99-yard drive was a prime example of the confidence he has in his new surroundings.
“I was double-covered on that play,” Jefferson said. “Him throwing it to that spot and me going to get it, that is going to happen a majority of the time during the season. He has to understand that even when I am double-teamed, I’m still open and that I am going to make a play.”
The 49ers didn’t miss a beat with All-Pro running back Christian McCaffrey sidelined for the opener because of a sore calf muscle and Achilles tendon, with backup Jordan Mason rushing for 147 yards and a touchdown against the Jets.
His 28 carries were the most by a 49ers player since Frank Gore had 31 on Oct. 30, 2011, and he also broke a league-best 13 tackles, according to NFL Next Gen Stats.
McCaffrey is out again this week but the Niners are plenty confident that Mason can handle the load.
“He’s a dense, sturdy guy and he just runs downhill very physically,” All-Pro tight end George Kittle said. “Hopefully he can just keep doing that and there’ll be a very good substitute for Christian so we don’t have to play Christian for 100 snaps a game.”
Jones will also make his home debut for the Vikings after seven seasons with their fiercest rival the Green Bay Packers. He’s eager to join the U.S. Bank Stadium crowd in the ritual “Skol!” chant that’s accompanied by a rhythmic over-the-head clap that builds to a frenzy.
“When you’re on the other sideline, you’re trying not to clap, you’re trying not to get into it, because you see the whole stadium doing it and it’s contagious,” said Jones, who rushed 14 times for 94 yards last week. “I’m really amped to just come out there and play in front of the fans.”
San Francisco kicker Jake Moody enjoyed a superb start to his second season by tying a franchise record with six field goals made last week, including two from at least 50 yards.
The 2023 third-round draft pick had a spotty rookie year, including a potential winning field goal he missed against Cleveland and an extra point he had blocked in the Super Bowl against Kansas City.
“Every time that he got more eyes on him and people were waiting for him to fail, he always rebounded and got through that,” Shanahan said. “When you do that, you build true confidence and you get stronger through adversity.”
AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL
San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan speaks at a news conference after an NFL football game against the New York Jets in Santa Clara, Calif., Monday, Sept. 9, 2024. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)
San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy looks to pass the ball against the New York Jets during the first half of an NFL football game in Santa Clara, Calif., Monday, Sept. 9, 2024. (AP Photo/Jed Jacobsohn)
San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy, center, gestures toward fans after an NFL football game against the New York Jets in Santa Clara, Calif., Monday, Sept. 9, 2024. (AP Photo/Jed Jacobsohn)
Minnesota Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold (14) celebrates after a 21-yard touchdown catch by teammate wide receiver Jalen Nailor (83) during the second half of an NFL football game against the New York Giants, Sunday, Sept. 8, 2024, in East Rutherford, N.J. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger)
Minnesota Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold answers questions during a press conference after an NFL football game against the New York Giants, Sunday, Sept. 8, 2024, in East Rutherford, N.J. (AP Photo/Pamela Smith)
