Controversial and by no means afraid to talk his thoughts, proprietor Mike Repole has been known as a disruptor, which implies that he’s intent on difficult the established order with regards to how horse racing is run. And his main goal has been The Jockey Club. When the TDN interviewed Jockey Club Chairman Everett Dobson on final week’s podcast, Repole requested for equal time.
It was an affordable request, so Repole joined the staff on this week’s TDN Writers’ Room Podcast introduced by Keeneland. He was the Gainesway Guest of the Week. As anticipated, Repole had quite a bit to say about The Jockey Club and the state of the business. He additionally spoke about having the doubtless favourite within the GI Kentucky Derby in Renegade (Into Mischief) and a prime contender within the GI Kentucky Oaks in Zany (American Pharoah).
To the shock of nobody, Repole discovered fault with lots of the issues Dobson needed to say on final week’s podcast.
“(Dobson) said that The Jockey Club and I agree on 95 percent of things,” Repole stated. “If that’s true, then we have a major problem with execution and a major problem with getting (expletive) done. If that’s false, then you’re just full of BS, and stop lying to us. Anytime I’ve agreed with someone at 95 percent, you have to find a solution. I am willing to find the solutions on how to move this game forward, and I don’t really believe that they’re attempting to find any solutions.”
The state of affairs between The Jockey Club and Repole has develop into adversarial, and he has stated that he’s within the means of submitting a lawsuit in opposition to the group. Even so, Repole stated he’d nonetheless welcome the chance to get business leaders, together with these from The Jockey Club, right into a room and never depart till everybody can agree on options that may resolve among the sport’s issues. He has stated that The Jockey Club has rejected his efforts for a gathering.
“All I wanted to do was get a bunch of industry experts together,” he stated. “Let’s just lock each other in a room for 24 hours, maybe two days, and just talk about what’s working, what’s not working, and what can we do to make it better in the most non-threatening way. It was rebuffed. So to me, that’s not showing that you’re looking to move the game forward. I don’t want to be pessimistic or negative on the game, but you have to be honest. I don’t really see anything that is really working in this game, from the foal crop, to racing, to HISA, to aftercare, to the sales, to the SAFE Act, to CAWs, to the horseplayers, to the tracks.”
He doesn’t imagine that probably the most distinguished organizations within the sport are fulfilling their obligation to enhance the sport.
“Where’s the innovation? Where’s the thought process?” he stated. “We get nothing from the Breeders’ Cup. We get nothing from The Jockey Club. And HISA is accelerating the death of the sport, and that’s the truth.”
When the topic moved on to Renegade, a horse he co-owns with Robert and Lawana Low, and the Derby, Repole’s tone shifted. He is aware of that he has a horse who’s able to giving him his first Derby win.
“He looks wonderful,” Repole stated. “He’s training incredibly. Now I’m going to get more anxious talking about this. He’s only going to get better with more distance. That big Churchill stretch is going to look awfully good to him. If Irad (Ortiz, Jr.) can just get him to the outside in fifth or sixth place, he’s going to be in a in great position for that last quarter mile. So, yes, I am excited about that. I’m not as excited about the sport as I used to be, but how can I not be excited about this horse? I have to be.”
And the place did Zany and Renegade get their names?
“Zany means crazy,” he stated. “Do you know anybody else that’s crazy on this call out of the four of us? Where do you think the name Renegade came from? You know anybody who’s a renegade. We’ve got a crazy renegade running in these races.”
The “Fastest Horses of the Week” was White Abarrio (Race Day), who earned a 111 Beyer in his win within the GII Oaklawn Handicap. The Fastest Horse of the Week section is sponsored by WinStar, which stands the sire Constitution.
Elsewhere on the podcast, which can also be sponsored by the PHBA, 1/ST TV, the KTOB and West Point Thoroughbreds, Randy Moss, Bill Finley, and Zoe Cadman mentioned White Abarrio’s large win within the Oaklawn Handicap over reigning Horse of the Year Sovereignty (Into Mischief) and GI Preakness Stakes winner Journalism (Curlin), in addition to the lawsuit the connections of White Abarrio have filed over the scratching of their horse previous to final 12 months’s GI Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile. The staff additionally mentioned the information that Churchill Downs had bought the mental property rights to the Preakness and what meaning for the way forward for the Triple Crown.
Click here to watch the podcast, or click here to listen.
