Mike Repole

Initial reports that Mike Repole was interested in purchasing Gulfstream Park and retaining it as a racetrack gained new life this week when Repole tweeted: "I would buy Gulfstream for $300 million today and close the deal by Friday." When reached by the TDN to clarify his remarks and provide more information on his proposal, Repole said that in the spring of 2025, he met with Belinda Stronach, the CEO of The Stronach Group, which owns Gulfstream, and made the offer. He said he also had conversations with Keith Brackpool,...

Churchill Downs sent a letter to the Federal Trade Commission asking for an "independent review of HISA governance, information security, disclosure practices, and related integrity concerns" on Friday. The letter is signed by Churchill CEO Bill Carstanjen. The news was first reported by Horse Racing Nation. Addressed to Andrew Ferguson, Chairman, and Mark Meador, Commissioner, of the FTC, the letter begins, "Churchill Downs Incorporated submits this letter to express serious concern regarding a series of recent events that have raised significant questions about the governance, transparency, technology controls, and accountability...

It will be a big week for Mike Repole, who will be trying to win the GI Travers Stakes for the third time, with Renegade (Into Mischief), a horse he co-owns with Robert and Lawana Low. The Travers has been on his mind, but so have the many problems the sport has--issues that Repole will never stop speaking up about. The controversial but always entertaining owner joined this week's TDN Writers' Room Podcast presented by Keeneland to discuss the Travers and his beefs with the sport and its leaders. Repole...

Mike Repole joined this week's TDN Writers' Room to discuss recent events in the industry, from the Fair Hill Five to HISA's response to the Marshall Gramm situation. The team also looked ahead to this weekend's GI Travers Stakes at Saratoga.

Following on from a record-breaking Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Sale, the strength of the yearling market was again on full display in Deauville. From a €4.6-million record-breaker to 10 seven-figure yearlings and another dominant showing from Ecurie des Monceaux, here are the key takeaways from three days of selling at Arqana. 1). €4.6m French Record The French yearling record was smashed when Coolmore paid €4.6 million for Ecurie des Monceaux's Wootton Bassett colt, eclipsing the €3m record set by a Monceaux-consigned Night Of Thunder filly last year. Coolmore had sold the colt...

6th-SAR, $115K, Msw, 2yo, f, 6 1/2f, 2:47 p.m. ET. RED POPPY (Omaha Beach) fills an entry box for Spendthrift Farm and trainer Todd Pletcher. The 2-year-old was initially a $400,000 Fasig-Tipton October buy before running thorough the OBS April sale for $900,000 (see Summer Breezes). Red Poppy's extended female family includes SW Praetereo (Giant's Causeway) and GI Central Bank Ashland Stakes winner Percy's Bar (Upstart). TJCIS PPS 1st-SAR, $115K, Msw, 2yo, 6 1/2f, 11:45 a.m. ET. Team Valor bred and will race U.S.S. Valor (War of Will) who is...

   This is the first installment in what will be an ongoing series, presented by Hagyard, in which we catch up with the connections behind TDN Rising Stars. We'll go beyond the flashy performances to uncover the decisions that helped shape these future stars. When Life Changing (Life Is Good) was preparing for her debut on Aug. 1 at Saratoga, breeder Audie Otto had high expectations for the filly, who was bought by Mike Repole for $1.025 million at the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Sale. Not only was she out of Smart...

Getting your matings right is only ever a start. The babies then need to find their way into the right hands, generally something outside your control. But if there are degrees of expertise out there, you can at least be confident that the vast majority of our community will be reliably animated, first and foremost, by a passion for the horse. On those rare occasions when that confidence proves shockingly misplaced, however, even our best selves can seldom redeem the disaster. Happily, that has at least happened with one of...

The Triple Crown series, which captivated racing fans and provided the sport with some of its most electric moments since the series was first swept by Sir Barton in 1919, passed away Monday. It was 107. The cause of its death was a new series of races announced by the New York Racing Association and Churchill Downs. The six-race series, called the "Thoroughbred Championship Series," will begin with the GI Kentucky Derby and conclude with a championship race at Churchill in September. Many details have yet to be released, but...

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - By Mike Repole's count, it was going to be a party of 55 at the Jim Dandy celebration dinner at Nove Restaurant Saturday night. Maybe add 20 or so hangers-on who became honorary Repole groupies during a day that the owner won four races. The biggest, of course, was the $500,000 GII Jim Dandy Stakes when Renegade (Into Mischief) came out of left field with a furious rally to win by a half-neck for jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. That set off a wild celebration that would...

Saratoga Maidens, Presented by Keeneland Repole Stable's Pinpoint (Not This Time), a well-beaten fifth behind subsequent GIII Sanford S. winner and GII Saratoga Special S. runner-up Booked (Yaupon) on debut at Saratoga June 7, looked like a different horse at second asking at the Spa Saturday. Overlooked at 12-1, the $300,000 Keeneland September graduate was hustled to the front by Ricardo Santana, Jr. and cleared the field of seven through an opening quarter in :22.93. He was in control at the top of the stretch and kept on rolling down...

During this summer's World Cup, an intriguing story was almost lost amid the carnival. As many as eight Tunisian football players tested positive for Clenbuterol, a drug banned in human sports and regulated in horse racing due to its anabolic properties. The players were stationed in the Mexican city of Monterrey, and the positives have been largely linked in the news to the consumption of drug contaminated meat. Indeed, the UK's Times reported that the "trace" levels were below a threshold "introduced owing to the sheer number of cases involving...