NFL Player-Turned-Horse Owner Mike Renfro Joins TDN Writers’ Room

   Mike Renfro caught 28 touchdowns during his eleven seasons in the NFL playing for the Houston Oilers and the Dallas Cowboys. Like most athletes, even after all these years, he misses those Sunday afternoons, the camaraderie with his teammates and the thrill of competition. But what would fill the void when he walked off the field for the last time in 1988? He discovered horse racing. Thirty-seven years later, Renfro is part of the CJ Thoroughbreds ownership group, which has its sights set on Saturday’s King’s Plate at Woodbine with Tom’s Magic (Justify).

  To talk about his careers–in football and in racing–Renfro was the Gainesway Guest of the Week on this week’s episode of the TDN Writers’ Room presented by Keeneland.

  “Any ex-athlete that spent some time at least at the highest level for a while will tell you the same thing,” Renfro said. “There’s been others before me and there’ll be others to come. But any pro athlete that gets out of the game, it’s hard. We have a lot of ex-teammates. We have a lot of teammates that struggle after a life of fame and the fortune, right? And whether it’s Hollywood actors, pro athletes, whoever it may be, if they’re in the spotlight and they’ve been exposed to that lifestyle, it can be very difficult. Thank goodness for horse racing. It’s a wonderful sport.”

     In our “Fastest Horse of the Week” segment, which is sponsored by WinStar stallion Life Is Good, the fastest horse of the week was GI Sword Dancer winner El Cordobes (Ire) (Frankel {GB}), who earned a 104 Beyer.

  Elsewhere on the podcast, which is also sponsored by 1/ST Racing, the Pennsylvania Horse Breeders’ Association, West Point Thoroughbreds, and 1/ST TV, the team of Zoe Cadman, Bill Finley and Randy Moss previewed the GI Alabama S. and the King’s Plate. They also reviewed the GI Sword Dancer and the GI Arlington Million and discussed the foul-up last Saturday at Saratoga where the last race on the card was run at the wrong distance.

Click here to watch the show.

Click here for the audio-only version.

photo credit: CJ Thoroughbreds