Houston Texans

Vince Wilfork is almost as tall as his brand new horse

Published Mar. 31, 2016 9:58 a.m. ET

foxsports

Vince Wilfork's horse racing empire continues to grow. The veteran nose tackle has a new horse named Elysea's World, and he is nearly as tall as the latest addition to his stables.

Wilfork dabbles in horse racing when he is not playing football. He first grew interested in the racing world seven years ago while still a member of the New England Patriots when, according to a Sports Illustrated feature, Wilfork was drawn to the story of Big Brown, a horse who won the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness before losing in the Belmont Stakes.

The story claims Wilfork bought his first horse, Great Minds, in 2012, and Wilfork has been racing the horse for over two years now. According to Wilfork's profile on horseracingnation.com, Great Minds won first prize in two of 15 races so far.

Wilfork's interest in horse racing could turn into a profitable venture for his post-football life if he is lucky, but racing is a gamble and there is no guaranteed money in it for the NFL veteran. Still, Wilfork had an interesting justification for why investing in horses is a worthwhile business move.

Via SI.com:

"I realize racing is a gamble," Wilfork told SI.com. "But this is one way that I can actually spend my money. I could just give it to some guy who is probably running a Ponzi scheme and he just sends me fake statements every month. Or I can buy horses and go watch them race. That’s a lot more enjoyable."

When you look at it that way, the risk seems much more wise.