LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Mike Repole last Saturday stood outside trainer Todd Pletcher’s barn to talk about his Kentucky Derby favorite Fierceness after he came off the track following a training session. The mood was much more jovial than when Repole stood in a similar spot 51 weeks earlier. On the morning of the 149th Kentucky Derby, and after an anguishing three days, Repole had to announce that Forte, the 2022 2-year-old champion and race favorite, had to scratch from the 2023 Kentucky Derby due to a foot bruise. It was the second time in 12 years that Repole had to announce the scratch of a horse who was going to be the Kentucky Derby favorite. Uncle Mo, in 2011 was scratched the day before the race due to an intestinal issue. Might be enough to discourage a normal person. “I felt bad for about 24 hours,” Repole said. “Honestly, the love and support I got from friends and family and people outside almost made me feel guilty. No horse passed away; I scratched the Derby favorite. “I have had a lot of things go my way in life. It was uncomfortable having so many people out there feel bad for the horse and me. I was fine. I bounce back quick, man.” :: DRF Kentucky Derby Package: Save on PPs, Clocker Reports, Betting Strategies, and more. Apparently, so does his stable. Repole is back in the Kentucky Derby again. And again Saturday he’ll have the Derby favorite in Fierceness – like Uncle Mo and Forte a juvenile champion – the record-setting winner of the Florida Derby. Fierceness is a homebred, a son of City of Light out of the Repole-owned mare Nonna Bella, who is out of another Repole mare, Nonna Mia. It’s somewhat ironic Repole is here with a homebred considering how much money he spends at auction buying young horses. Last year, Repole, by himself or in partnership, bought 53 yearlings, spending about $16 million. Including homebreds, Repole has 60 2-year-olds for this year. He has more than 300 horses, including 48 broodmares plus an interest in 14 stallions. He even has a 2-year-old he bought in France with a trainer whose name Repole said he doesn’t even know (Jerome Reynier). So, yes, Repole, 55, is all in on racing. But he’s far from happy with the state of the game. He sees too many areas of the sport broken and he wants to do something about it. Repole last fall created the National Thoroughbred Alliance. It has no regulatory authority and cannot implement policy. But it can get people talking, and Repole, along with Pat Cummings, an industry consultant who Repole hired as his executive director, have people talking. “I’m in this game because I love this game, I want to have fun,” said Repole, a billionaire who sold brands such as Vitaminwater and BodyArmor to Coca-Cola. “When you’re not having fun and you don’t love it as much as you used to, you got to decide to do something about it, or shut your mouth, or get out. Shutting my mouth is not possible, so it’s either get out or make changes. I’m motivated about making changes.” Repole can’t effect change without support from industry stakeholders. That’s why he is talking. To everyone. On Tuesday alone he had breakfast with Bill Carstanjen, CEO of Churchill Downs, and lunch with Seth Hancock of Claiborne Farm. “It was better than awesome, they love what I’m doing,” Repole said. “I told them they both inspired me to keep doing what I’m doing.” There is a lot Repole and Cummings want to do. They are beginning in the arena of Thoroughbred aftercare, the retraining, rehoming, and relocating of horses for second careers or retirement. Repole said he and Cummings are close to finalizing a plan Repole believes can raise $15 million to $20 million annually for Thoroughbred aftercare with contributions from breeders, owners, consignors, sales companies, and track operators. “By January of next year, this plan is going to get instituted. We already have 50 percent buy-in. I’m going to get the other 50 percent and if we don’t we’ll tell you who’s in, we’ll tell you who’s out,” Repole said. “To me, that’s the first step in change. When people see that we can work together for a really good cause and help one of the biggest issues in racing, that will gain momentum for the next move.” Repole believes he has had some influence in a few recent developments. He notes that Churchill Downs recently announced it is donating a total of $150,000 to 20 Thoroughbred Aftercare groups. He points out that after he announced he would not buy 2-year-olds who breeze at 2-year-old in training auctions, the sales companies have started to implement change. “Some people might view it as coincidental, but I think by being vocal we are holding people accountable,” Repole said. “I’m not saying they weren’t going to make some of the moves they’ve made, but I really believe being vocal as an owner has made them make the moves a little bit quicker and think about it differently.” Before going to work with Repole, Cummings was attempting to invoke change through his Thoroughbred Idea Foundation that began in 2018. The TIF was instrumental in getting payouts calculated to the penny instead of to the dime in Kentucky, essentially putting more money in the pockets of bettors. Cummings said while with the TIF he was talking to the same people he and Repole are talking with now, but the reaction is quite different. “The conversations such as nationwide marketing for the sport, such as helping the racing office run more efficiently, people are talking, people want to be engaged, people want to know what’s going on,” Cummings said. “Without question this is happening because of Mike’s influence. “I feel like there is an elevation of some of the past work that I was doing,” Cummings added. “If you say what’s different, I say Mike’s the difference.” Repole is hoping there is a different outcome for him this week in the Kentucky Derby. With partners, or alone, Repole has started seven runners in six Derbies. Mo Donegal’s fifth-place finish in 2022 is his best result. In Fierceness, trained by two-time Derby-winning trainer Todd Pletcher, Repole has a horse who has been brilliant on three occasions – a maiden win at Saratoga, the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile, and Florida Derby. He has been disappointing on two occasions, the Champagne and Holy Bull. As obsessed as he is with his businesses and racing, Repole said he is not obsessed with winning the Kentucky Derby. He rattles off the names of some of the prestigious races he’s won and the fact he’s campaigned four champions – and counts himself quite fortunate. “It’s not normal,” he said. “Do I want to win this race? The answer is yes. If it doesn’t happen is my life incomplete? The answer’s no. Charles Barkley never won an NBA championship. Was he a failure? Dan Marino never won a Super Bowl? Was he a failure? No, they’re Hall of Famers.” Win or lose the Derby on Saturday, there’s a better-than-average chance Repole will be right back here next year. In the same spot. Talking. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.