Aaron Rodgers Takes in the Breeders’ Cup, Seemingly Pain-Free
ARCADIA, Calif. — As Aaron Rodgers sat on a couch inside the Trophy Lounge at Santa Anita Park for the Breeders’ Cup on Saturday, he bent down to take off his black “Rocker” shoes, which have a thick sole and rounded heel to take pressure off the Achilles tendon. He raised up his Star Wars socks, and rested his left leg up on the empty couch next to him.
It has been less than two months since Rodgers underwent surgery on his fully torn left Achilles, which he ruptured just four plays into the first game of the season on Sept. 11. The surgery was performed about 30 miles southwest of where Rodgers was sitting by Dr. Neal ElAttrache, who works with the Lakers, Dodgers, Rams and Kings in Los Angeles and has operated on everyone from Kobe Bryant and Tom Brady to Arnold Schwarzenegger and Charlize Theron.
Rodgers smiled as he put his shoes back on and walked around Santa Anita Park, seemingly pain-free as he placed bets and mingled among the other VIP guests sitting trackside. “Hopefully this year,” Rodgers said when someone asked him when he’s going to play again. When someone told him they were a Chicago Bears fan, he smiled and said, “I still own you. I always have and always will.”
Sitting next to Rodgers at the Breeders' Cup was his friend and actor Miles Teller. The two have gone to the Kentucky Derby together and were at Taylor Swift’s concert at MetLife Stadium earlier this year. As they left Santa Anita Park with their two-man security detail, Teller gave each waiter and usher around their section a $100 bill. Rodgers did not answer any questions, but did say he was flying back to New York and would be at the Monday Night Football game between the New York Jets and Los Angeles Chargers.
Carson Kressley from Queer Eye for the Straight Guy and RuPaul’s Drag Race was one of the first celebrities to arrive at Santa Anita Park for the Breeders’ Cup on Saturday morning. He has been coming to the track for years and competed in equestrian events when he was younger.
“I love Santa Anita and I love horse racing,” Kressley said. “It’s a great day to get dressed up and be sporty. It’s a great day of racing and entertainment. Where else can you wear a fedora in Southern California? I don’t know much about sports. I know that Aaron Rodgers is here and I only know about him because he dated Shailene Woodley.”
Kressley, who grew up in Allentown, Pennsylvania, did admit he was a Philadelphia Eagles fan as a kid. “My third-grade math teacher was an Eagles cheerleader so from an early age I guess I was an Eagles fan,” he said. “The Eagles lost to the Raiders that year but that’s when I became a fan.”
Taylor Swift, who grew up 40 miles south of Allentown in West Redding, also was an Eagles fan before adopting the Kansas City Chiefs as her team after she started dating Travis Kelce. Would Kressley ever change team allegiances for a significant other?
“No,” Kressley said. “He would just have to accept me for the person that I am.”
Elizabeth Banks was one of the more engaged celebrities at the Breeders’ Cup, going back and forth to the betting window after each race. Her love of horse racing began about 20 years ago when she starred in the film Seabiscuit along with Tobey Maguire and Jeff Bridges.
“It has been a great day of racing,” Banks said. “I’ve been coming to the Breeders’ Cup for years and I’m an ambassador for the Breeders’ Cup now. I love coming to Santa Anita. This is where we shot Seabiscuit. This is like my home track. I love watching the horses. They are so regal. This is the sport of kings for a reason. These horses are beautiful, beautiful animals.”
Richie Sambora, the former lead guitarist for Bon Jovi, was one of the last celebrities to leave the track long after the Breeders’ Cup was over and the sun began to set at Santa Anita Park. His love of horse racing began when his father would take him to Monmouth Park at the New Jersey shore as a child and, he said, being at the track always takes him back to that time.
“That was one of our pastimes,” Sambora said. “I was lucky, I had a really good father. Throughout his life, we had a chance to go to the horse races a lot. The track was pretty close to the house and maybe we put 10 to 15 bucks in our pocket. We just enjoyed the whole outing and we’re watching these supreme athletes doing what they do best. It’s incredible. There’s nothing like it.”
