Mike Repole, the prominent Thoroughbred owner, has formed an organization called the National Thoroughbred Alliance that will attempt to unite disparate parts of the industry to press the sport to adopt a “shared vision” toward improving its long-term prospects. In an hour-long conference call with journalists, Repole said that he was forming the alliance – which deliberately shares a name with an owner-led group launched nearly 30 years ago by advertising executive Fred Pope – because of his dissatisfaction with the current state of the industry, a sense that he said is widespread within the sport. “No one is winning,” Repole said. “We’re all losing. Everybody.” The one-hour conference call was short on details but long on ambition. Repole said that he had not yet decided how the NTA would be structured, but he said that he anticipates hiring “three to five” people as staff. The organization will reach out to groups throughout the industry to attempt to find solutions that work for “the entire industry,” Repole said, rather than those that benefit only small constituencies. “This is about unity, this is about improvements, this is about trying a different take to get people to work together,” Repole said. “This only works if everyone is on board.” For the past several months, Repole has hinted in interviews that he was looking to form an organization that would press for changes in the industry. He said he finally decided to go ahead after reaching out to Pope to discuss Pope’s experience in the 1990s. Pope’s NTA eventually morphed into the National Thoroughbred Racing Association, which was at the time of its formation structured to be a type of league office for racing. :: DRF Breeders' Cup Packages on sale now! Get everything you need to win and save up to 32% off the retail price.  Though the NTRA still exists, it has a far smaller mandate than at its creation. “I got so motivated and inspired by what he was saying,” Repole said. “It’s a tribute to him.” The self-funded organization will be headed by Pat Cummings, who for the past five years has headed up the Thoroughbred Idea Foundation, an advocacy group that focused mostly on issues impacting horseplayers. Repole said that Cummings was the “perfect guy to lead this initiative.” The TIF was funded by the owner-breeder Craig Bernick, who gave Cummings a wide berth to focus on issues he believed could be improved through advocacy. Over the past five years, the TIF has had several major advocacy successes, including a campaign to press the Kentucky legislature to pass penny breakage, which it did in 2022. Cummings said that he would adapt the same strategy to the NTA. “I faced a lot of similar questions with the Thoroughbred Idea Foundation,” Cummings said. “People saying, ‘You have absolutely no power, how are you going to do these things?’ Well, you just have to start. There isn’t a blueprint for change in a space that hasn’t changed. You have to plow ahead. You can’t be turned off by people who turn around and say, ‘Okay, knock yourself out.’ ” In a separate interview on Thursday, Bernick said that the TIF would be folded, though he will maintain its website to provide access to the papers that Cummings produced while heading the organization. “I think we did a good job,” Bernick said. “I think it’s come to its natural end here. Pat’s fantastic and I think it would be very hard to find an executive director with his skillset. And I think a lot of what we advocated for is going to be part of what NTA is going to do, so it’s kind of a nice place to stop.” Repole was not specific about how much funding he would be providing to NTA, but said it would be “in the millions.” He said Cummings has produced several short-term plans for the organization taking it through the next year, and that he has also produced a three-year plan and a five-year plan for the NTA. :: BREEDERS’ CUP 2023: See DRF’s special section with top contenders, odds, comments, news, and more for each division As for the lack of specifics, Repole cited his experience with launching new brands into crowded marketplaces. Repole was the co-founder of VitaminWater and BodyArmor, two sports drinks that were purchased by Coca-Cola for a total of nearly $10 billion. “When you’re building this new brand or entity, you don’t really know what you need or who you need until after you get started,” Repole said. Cummings said that he and Repole would begin reaching out to prominent industry leaders over the winter. “There will be a lot more to announce in the coming months,” Cummings said. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.