Mike Repole looks at things differently than most people. It’s made him a billionaire.
Billionaire owner confident first Kentucky Derby win is at hand
Years ago, when folks were drinking either soda or plain water, he came up with the idea of bridging the gap between the two and pretty much revolutionized the enhanced water beverage industry with VitaminWater, launched in 2000, and Bodyarmor, founded in 2011. (The companies were later sold in separate deals to Coca-Cola for upwards of $10 billion).
Can that kind of creative thinking finally win him the Kentucky Derby? Maybe not, but his take on being winless so far has not dimmed his enthusiasm or kept him from trying. In Repole’s mind, the glass is neither half-empty nor half-full. It’s just the wrong-sized glass.
Mike Repole
So, when people ask him about being 0-for-7 in the race, he shakes his head.
“In my mind, I’m 0-for-7 with starters, 0-for-2 with favorites, so 0-for-9,” said Repole. “This [5-2 morning-line favorite Fierceness] will be No. 10. Who would have thought, growing up in Queens and going to Aqueduct, I’d be here on my 10th Derby entry? It’s all great.”
In 2011, Repole’s first Derby go-around, he came to Louisville with trainer Todd Pletcher and two good-looking hopefuls for the Run for the Roses in Juvenile champion Uncle Mo, and his lesser-known stablemate, Stay Thirsty.
Uncle Mo was scratched the day before the race after having not recovered sufficiently from a gastrointestinal infection, while Stay Thirsty finished 12th.
Last year, it was deja vu.
Representing Repole and Pletcher was Forte, the Juvenile champion who came into the race riding a four-race win streak, including a thrilling one-length victory over Mage in the Florida Derby.
From Scratch to Success: Repole’s Journey with Fierceness after Derby Setback
Hours before the race, the horse was scratched by state veterinarians because of a bruised foot. (Only 18 horses wound up competing in the race, with Skinner, Practical Move, Lord Miles and Continuar also having been scratched since entries were taken. Oh, and Mage won).
Mike Repole and FIerceness. Coady Photo.
Repole, whose best finish at that point was a fifth by Mo Donegal in 2022, said he was upset “for about 24 hours.”
“You onlyget to be a 3-year-old colt on the first Saturday in May one time in your life,” he said at the time.
Having his homebred Fierceness, a grandson of Stay Thirsty who was a 13 ½-length winner of the Florida Derby appears to have eased last year’s heartbreak.
Even after Fierceness drew the 17 post, where no horse has ever won the Derby (0-for-44), Repole didn’t fret.
“I love the No. 17,” he said. “We wanted outside the speed, and that’s what we got. Somebody told me the 17 is 0-for-44, so we don’t mind making history out there.”
The chance is at hand.
“No one should feel sorry for Mike Repole,” he said, adding, “A year after Forte, and I got Fierceness?” he added. “What great luck. That’s not supposed to happen. … Maybe it was meant to be.”