Could Kid Cruz Victory Produce ‘Michael Sam Moment’ at Belmont?
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Kid Cruz, above, won the Federico Tesio Stakes before finishing eighth in the Preakness Stakes on May 17. (Photo by Jim McCue/Maryland Jockey Club)
Linda Rice, trainer of Preakness Stakes eighth-place finisher Kid Cruz, has said she plans to enter the horse in the Belmont Stakes for another shot at upsetting California Chrome.
If the horse can pull off the upset this time it will give his co-owners, Steve Brandt and Ric Boylan, another chance to have their “Michael Sam moment” on national TV.
Brandt and Boylan race as Vina Del Mar Thoroughbreds and own Kid Cruz asin partnership with Black Swan Stable. Brandt and Boylan are more than just business partners, they were married in 2010. And while they may or may not be the first married same-sex couple in horse racing, if they win the Belmont they will 100% be the first openly gay owners of the winner of a Triple Crown race. And just like Micheal Sam, the first openly gay player to be drafted into the NFL, they plan to celebrate a big victory with a nationally televised kiss.
“I might kiss him,” Brandt said about his husband, Boylan, to USA Today prior to Kid Cruz running in the Preakness. “The cameras will be there and we’ll have our own Michael Sam moment. One can only hope.”
A win by Kid Cruz in the Belmont wouldn’t just be a first for openly gay owners. Rice could also become the first woman to train the winner of a Triple Crown race as well. Rice hasn’t commented on how she would celebrate a victory when the cameras were turned on.
Perhaps New York Giants wide receiver Victor Cruz will be there with her in the winner’s circle. Kid Cruz was named after the salsa-dancing NFL player, after all. While Victor Cruz hasn’t met Brandt and Boylan yet, he has spoken to a mutual friend he has with the couple.
His schedule didn’t permit him a trip to the Preakness, but the Belmont might be more likely. Just imagine alongside Boylan’s and Brandt’s “Michael Sam moment” we get to see a “Victor Cruz moment” - salsa dancing in the winner’s circle.