Repole says he might exit racing unless changes are made

Saratoga Springs, N.Y.

Mike Repole, a self-made billionaire who annually ranks among the leading investors in Thoroughbreds, has grown so frustrated with the industry that he has developed a timeframe for exiting.

“If I can’t make change in the next three years, I don’t see myself being in the game after that,” said Repole, one of the game’s most prominent owners. “For someone who loves the sport and is highly passionate, I would be disappointed.

“It’s great to have the ability to do things you are passionate about and love," he continued. "But once you take passion and love and add to it the frustration, then you’ve got to look yourself in the mirror and say, ‘Do I really want to do this?’ ”

Repole’s frustration has reached the point of exasperation. Although his career has been marked by a significant number of memorable triumphs, he twice has been forced to scratch the favorite in his quest for an elusive Kentucky Derby victory.

The native of Queens, N.Y., accepted his plight when what was eventually diagnosed as a rare liver disorder forced him to scratch brilliant 2-year-old champion Uncle Mo the day before the 2011 Derby. He is not nearly as understanding of the circumstances that caused Forte, yet another 2-year-old champion and the 9-2 choice to capture this year’s Derby, to be scratched by state veterinarians the morning of the nation’s premier race.

Trainer Todd Pletcher made the unusual move of galloping Forte the morning of the race to determine the youngster’s soundness. He had steadily treated the son of Violence for what he viewed as a minor bruise affecting the colt’s right front foot.

State veterinarians examined the 3-year-old after he came off the track and informed the connections of their decision. With the national spotlight on Churchill Downs, the track had been the site of a series of equine deaths leading to the first Saturday in May. Forte became the fifth horse to be scratched from the Derby.

Repole is still baffled about why his request to allow more time for treatment and postpone a decision until mid-afternoon was not granted. “They had their minds made up,” he said. “To scratch the Derby favorite on race day takes attention away from other things sometimes.”

The judgment by the state veterinarians also meant that Forte could not compete in the Preakness and forced him to enter the 1 1/2-mile Belmont Stakes off a 10-week layoff. Most observers were very impressed when he mounted a belated rally to be second to long shot Arcangelo in the test of the champion.

Repole, 54, co-owned the top two finishers in last year’s Belmont, Mo Donegal and the filly Nest. He said of this spring’s edition, “It wasn’t a tough defeat, but it was still a defeat. Asking a horse to go a mile and a half after 10 weeks of not having a race obviously affected him.”

It only added to the owner’s displeasure when Forte was disqualified from his victory in the Grade 1 Hopeful Stakes on Sept. 5 because of a miniscule overage of meloxicam found in the runner’s system during post-race testing. Meloxicam is a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug commonly used to treat osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis. Tests revealed the horse had 500 picograms per milliliter in his system. Pletcher denied that the drug was ever administered and appealed the decision.

Repole believes much more needs to be done to help sports fans gain a better understanding of racing and to enhance its image in an age when bad news seems to be everywhere.

“The negativity is all people want to talk about in every business and every sport, whether it’s baseball with steroids, whether it’s the NFL with concussions or whether it’s the less than 1 percent cheaters that we have in the game that we all want out of the game,” he said.

Repole noted that commissioners answer to owners in all major sports. He is speaking to leaders in racing and breeding to see what can be done to give owners a much greater voice in how the embattled sport is managed. Other than outlets that regularly cover the industry, the media typically focus on equine deaths rather than positive elements.

Repole compared racing to “a board game without instructions” and said, “I really believe the next five years are crucial.”

In the meantime, he looks forward to seeing how well Forte can move on from the interruption in his schedule. The sophomore has added blinkers as his bid for a second consecutive Eclipse continues with the $500,000 Jim Dandy (G2) on Saturday at Saratoga, a prep for the Aug. 26 Travers here.

“I think he’s coming into the Jim Dandy really, really good,” Repole said. “I still think he’s the leader of the division, and after the Jim Dandy, he will prove to everybody that he is still the leader of the division.”