As Breeders’ Cup Crowns Its Champions, Repole Challenges Horse Racing’s Establishment

The Breeders’ Cup is supposed to be horse racing’s showcase, a two-day celebration of thoroughbred excellence and multimillion-dollar purses with international appeal.Mike Repole arrived at Keeneland with a different agenda.The Queens-born billionaire businessman and thoroughbred owner is using racing’s second-biggest weekend to challenge what he calls a “massive conflict of interest” within an industry he believes has lost its way. In a lengthy social media post, Mr. Repole questioned the overlapping professional relationships among several of horse racing’s most influential organizations, alleging that their connections raise serious questions about independence and accountability.“Is this collusion? Is this massive corruption? Is this premeditated?” Mr. Repole wrote in his long post on social media. “Is this architected to control an industry?”The accusations, which Mr. Repole has not established as evidence of wrongdoing, put the sport’s leadership on notice during a weekend intended to celebrate its biggest stars. They also reflect a growing debate over who controls thoroughbred racing, how its institutions operate and whether the sport can reverse a long-term decline in tracks, participation and economic opportunity.Mr. Repole, who built his fortune through Vitaminwater and the sports apparel brand NoBull, has become one of horse racing’s most outspoken owners. He has celebrated four Breeders’ Cup winners, but he will not have a horse in Saturday’s $7 million Breeders’ Cup Classic.Instead, his presence at Keeneland is largely about challenging the people and organizations that govern the sport.Repole Stable has two entries across the two-day meeting, both longshots in Friday’s races for 2-year-old fillies. Mr. Repole’s more consequential activity is taking place away from the track where he has used social media to question the concentration of influence among racing’s lending institutions.At the center of his latest complaint is Stoll Keenon Ogden, a Kentucky-based law firm with deep roots in the thoroughbred industry. Mr. Repole questioned why the firm has ties to horse racing’s top organizations, including the Jockey Club Breeders’ Cup, Keeneland, the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders’ Association and the National Thoroughbred Racing Association.He also highlighted the professional histories of Drew Fleming, the Breeders’ Cup chief executive, and Shannon Arvin, Keeneland’s chief executive and chair of the NTRA. Both previously worked at Stoll Keenon Ogden.“Supposedly independent organizations, all connected to ONE LAW FIRM!!!,” Mr. Repole ranted in his post. “Does Lexington, Kentucky only have one law firm? These organizations are NOT INDEPENDENT!!!.”The law firm makes no secret about its extensive work in the industry. On its website, Stoll Keenon Ogden boasts that for “more than 75 years of service, our attorneys have served owners, breeders, trainers, and industry organizations, helping them navigate opportunities and challenges facing the equine industry locally, nationally and internationally. From transactions and syndications to litigation, tax planning, regulatory matters, we provide comprehensive counsel to an industry that is both central to the Commonwealth’s heritage and vital to its economy.”Such longstanding relationships are not, by themselves, evidence of improper conduct. But Mr. Repole argues that the overlapping connections deserve scrutiny and raise questions about whether the sport’s institutions operate independently enough to serve the broader racing community.Mr. Repole contends that “failed leadership” and a “concentration of power” has cost the horse racing industry “billions and billions” of dollars in lost revenue. “I’m talking about racetracks closing, thousands of lost jobs, breeders going out of business, owners leaving the industry,” he wrote. “Trainers struggling to survive, small businesses shutting down. Families losing livelihoods. Entire communities losing an industry they depended on.”Mr. Repole, who nicknamed himself ‘The Commissioner,’ also said the Breeders’ Cup has become “stressful, frustrating and downright unenjoyable” due to the emphasis on thoroughbred safety.“At some point, enough is enough,” he wrote, pointing to excessive veterinary scrutiny, PET (positron emission tomography) scans and late scratches. He also questioned the use of some medications, including LASIX. “We allow it in claiming and allowance races but prohibit it for two-year-olds and stakes horses?” he said. “Does Lasix suddenly become dangerous because the purse is bigger. If it’s harmful, ban it everywhere.”He has also moved beyond criticism on social media to making a substantial financial investment in the sport. Earlier this month, he announced that he had purchased 1 million shares of Churchill Downs, Inc., the publicly traded company that owns the historic Kentucky racetrack and operates a broader racing and gaming business.The purchase reportedly worth about $80 million, made him the second-largest individual stockholder of the sport’s most visible brand.Mr. Repole described the investment as a way to have a more influential place in the industry where he believes his voice deserves to be heard.“Some people say the most important thing is getting a seat at the table,” he told Yahoo Sports. “I’ve never had a seat at the table in anything I’ve ever done in my life, but what I’ve done a lot of times in my life is I just build my own table.”While Mr. Repole battles the business side of horse racing, the 43rd running of the Breeders’ Cup Classic offers a reminder why the sport remains compelling. An eight-horse field is headlined by defending champion Forever Young, the 2-1 morning-line favorite. The Japan-bred 5-year-old attempts to become only the second horse to win the 1 1⁄4-mile race twice, joining Tiznow, who captured consecutive editions in 2000 and 2001.Forever Young enters off a victory in the Grade 1 Jockey Club Gold Cup at Belmont on September 18. With career earnings exceeding $32 million, he ranks among the richest thoroughbreds in history. Trainer Yoshito Yahagi, who also guided Forever Young to last year’s Classic victory at Del Mar, will send the horse out with jockey Ryusei Sakai. Forever Young finished third in the 2024 Classic before returning to win last year’s renewal.The chief challenger is Sovereignty, the 5-2 second choice and reigning Horse of the Year. Golden Tempo, the 5-1 third choice, adds intrigue as one of three 3-year-olds in the field. Post time is Saturday at 6:16 p.m. EDT.

As Breeders’ Cup Crowns Its Champions, Repole Challenges Horse Racing’s Establishment

As Breeders’ Cup Crowns Its Champions, Repole Challenges Horse Racing’s Establishment

More from the New York Sun

Third-Party Candidates Could Tip Balance of Power in Texas, Ohio, Kansas, Iowa Senate Races

Everything’s Bigger in Texas, Even Political Donations From Sex Offenders

Dublin Sets Planning for United Ireland in Motion on an Island Haunted by the ‘Troubles’

Albania’s Capital Burns Over a Kushner Resort as Prime Minister Rama Blames a ‘Hybrid War’

Syria Shuts Women Out of Military Colleges and Paints Headscarves Into Schoolbooks

Why Putin Has So Much Room To Maneuver in War Against Ukraine

Italian Courts Undermine Giorgia Meloni’s Efforts To Uphold Law and Order Amid Spate of Riots

Congo’s Former President, Sentenced to Death for Backing Rebels, Now Leads Them Toward Key Border City

More from the New York Sun

Third-Party Candidates Could Tip Balance of Power in Texas, Ohio, Kansas, Iowa Senate Races

Everything’s Bigger in Texas, Even Political Donations From Sex Offenders

Dublin Sets Planning for United Ireland in Motion on an Island Haunted by the ‘Troubles’

Albania’s Capital Burns Over a Kushner Resort as Prime Minister Rama Blames a ‘Hybrid War’

Syria Shuts Women Out of Military Colleges and Paints Headscarves Into Schoolbooks

Why Putin Has So Much Room To Maneuver in War Against Ukraine

Italian Courts Undermine Giorgia Meloni’s Efforts To Uphold Law and Order Amid Spate of Riots

Congo’s Former President, Sentenced to Death for Backing Rebels, Now Leads Them Toward Key Border City