Can Gronkowski be factor?

Raised in upstate New York, Chad Brown didn’t root for the Bills, the Giants or the Jets when it came to football. He was a 49ers fan, because he liked future Hall of Fame quarterback Joe Montana.

Brown, 39, has become one of thoroughbred racing’s top trainers, and his favorite football team now is the New England Patriots because of Gronkowski. Both of them.

Brown likes Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski, and he trains the 3-year-old colt named after him who will be a fan favorite Saturday in the $1.5 million Belmont Stakes.

“He is going to pick up a few extra fans and that feels good,” Brown said. “I am happy people are rooting for him because of his name.”

Gronkowski, at 12-1 odds, adds a wild card to the final jewel of the Triple Crown, and not just because of the name. The Kentucky-bred colt has never raced in North America. He had six starts in England, winning four races and finishing second once. Brown said the owners of Gronkowski, Phoenix Thoroughbred Ltd., gave him the option of skipping the Belmont if he felt the colt was not ready.

“If the horse has enough foundation behind him, he is the kind of a horse that can run a mile and a half

on the dirt,” Brown said Thursday after Gronkowski galloped. “Is he ready for Saturday? We’ll see.”

Trainers saves a life: Forget the Belmont Stakes. It’s already been a remarkable week for Dale Romans, trainer of the 30-1 longshot Free Drop Billy.

He potentially saved a woman from choking to death by performing the Heimlich maneuver during a New York Mets’ game at Citi Field.

Romans, now nicknamed “The Heimlich Man” by Justify’s trainer, Bob Baffert, was at the ballpark Tuesday for the Belmont postposition draw. Afterward, Romans encountered a woman bent over a table struggling to breathe.

“I grabbed her and two or three pops and she got rid of what was in her throat, got up and she was fine,” Romans said.