If someone doesn't know Mike Repole very well, they might think he would be happier if his 3-year-old colt Renegade is the second choice in the May 2 Kentucky Derby (G1) as opposed to the favorite.
But that's not Repole's style. Even though he has owned three previous horses that were morning-line Derby favorites, only to have two scratched within 24 hours of the race (Uncle Mo in 2011 and Forte in 2023) and the other finish 15th (Fierceness in 2024), he's excited about the likelihood that the 2026 Arkansas Derby (G1) winner he co-owns with Robert and Lawana Low, will be announced as the favorite at the April 25 post position draw.
With the help of an angel, the billionaire businessman believes the fourth time can be the charm.
"With the Derby favorite there is added pressure. I've done this before and whether the horse is scratched or comes in 15th, I'm comfortable being in that position," said Repole, who races as Repole Stable. "If you want to be a great baseball player, would you rather bat cleanup or ninth? I want to bat cleanup because that's where the pressure is. If I strike out in front of the world, I'm not afraid. I've been there before. I'm a first-generation kid from Queens. I shouldn't even be allowed at the Derby."
For Repole, who is 0-for-8 with his starters in the opening leg of the Triple Crown, it's the May 2 date that makes this trip to Churchill Downs more emotional than the others.
Deeply devoted to his family, Repole's beloved grandmother, who he called "Nonna," died May 2, 2020, the day the Run for the Roses was scheduled to be run before it was shifted to September because of the pandemic.
This year will mark the first time since then that the Kentucky Derby is scheduled for May 2, so you know who will be at the forefront of Repole's thoughts that day.
"Since then, I've said about 100 times, the next time the Kentucky Derby falls on May 2, I really like my chances to win on that day for her," he said.
Repole tests the limits of a 24-hour day on a daily basis. Aside from his business enterprises and overseeing his stable of more than 250 horses, he has been a candid, and sometimes controversial, advocate for change in the Thoroughbred racing industry through his self-appointed role as commissioner of his National Thoroughbred Alliance. He is also the co-owner of the United Football League and the main financial booster for the men's basketball program at St. John's University, his alma mater.
Now you can add doting on a colt who is certainly capable of delivering a magical moment in Renegade, a son of champion sire Into Mischief bred by the Lows out of their graded-stakes winning Curlin mare Spice Is Nice.
Though winless in three starts at 2, the bay colt's trio of juvenile starts featured running into 17 3/4-length winner It's Our Time when third in his debut and then twice facing Paladin, a top Kentucky Derby candidate until an injury sidelined him last month. Renegade beat Paladin by a head in a maiden race, only to be disqualified and placed second, then finished second to him by 2 lengths in the Remsen Stakes (G2).
But at 3, Renegade is unbeaten for Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher and has been quite impressive in his two starts. He rallied from eighth to take the Sam F. Davis Stakes by 3 3/4 lengths, with highly regarded Kentucky Derby candidate The Puma finishing third. He covered the final sixteenth of a mile that day in a blazing :05.97.
The buzz grew even louder when he closed from last in a field of eight in winning the Arkansas Derby at Oaklawn Park by 4 widening lengths. His final furlong was clocked in an impressive :11.84. In fact, according to Equibase GPS, he ran each of the race's three final sixteenths under 6 seconds.
"I think what's been impressive is the way he's finished his last few races. That's his biggest strength," said Pletcher, a two-time Kentucky Derby winner who has trained Repole's horses for about 16 years and has sent out the favorite in the race twice, winning with Always Dreaming in 2017 and finishing unplaced with 2023 2-year-old champion male Fierceness. "It's been well documented that in the final eighth in the Arkansas Derby and the final sixteenth in the Sam Davis he delivered a pretty strong closing kick. You also have to work out a good trip and he's been tactical enough to do that. In a big field like this, that's going to be everyone's concern."
Those two prep wins have stoked Repole's hopes that he can finally add the Kentucky Derby to his stable's wins with Pletcher in premier races such as the Belmont Stakes (G1), Travers Stakes (G1), and Breeders' Cup Classic (G1).
"He came home like few horses can. If he is in position at the top of the stretch, with that long quarter-mile Churchill Downs stretch, he's going to be tough to beat. I think the mile and a quarter and Churchill Downs suit him. He has a great temperament. Very relaxed, very smart. Todd says he checks all the boxes," the 57-year-old Repole said. "When Todd is quiet with me, like he has been, I get a little more nervous because I know he feels really confident about this horse. He sees this as a legitimate chance and all I want to do is stay out of his way."
Repole bought Renegade through his bloodstock agent Jacob West for $975,000 from the Taylor Made Sales Agency at the 2024 Keeneland September Yearling Sale. After the purchase, mindful that West also works for the Lows, he asked him to inquire if they wanted to purchase a share of their homebred. They did, and the teamwork it has taken to get Renegade to where he now stands in the 3-year-old crop brings out the emotion in Repole.
"I've been so blessed in my life, but there are others," Repole said. "Nothing would make me happier than seeing (Pletcher and jockey Irad Ortiz Jr.) win the Derby. Todd's the guy who gets up 3:30 every morning and is at the barn by 4:30, 365 days a year, and to give Irad his first Derby win in what will be a Hall of Fame career would be incredible. I have other people in my team like (longtime racing manager) Jim Martin who is 78 and (pedigree analyst) Ed Rosen who is 80. It would be so great for them.
"There's also my mom and dad (Anna and Benny). My dad is going to be 86 on May 8. My mom is going to be 81 this year. If not for them, I would not be who I am. To win it with them there and my wife and daughter, Maria and Gioia, would be awfully special. And how great would it be for the Lows? They have been going to the races together for 40 or 50 years and have been so loyal to Todd and Jacob. I have always said, 'Success is best when it's shared.'"
With the Kentucky Derby approaching, perhaps this will finally be the time Repole gets the happy ending he keeps chasing.
"It's different from 40 years ago when I first started following horse racing. We've won a lot of big races," he said. "In this race we are 0-for-8 with three scratches and if you count the scratches, like I do, we're 0-for-11. I've always said life is not easy and the people who succeed in life are those who have grit and continue to take a swing. Like it is in baseball, I may strike out but I will not strike out looking."
