Mike Repole

Mike Repole went to $6 million for triple Grade I winner Nest (Curlin--Marion Ravenwood, by A.P. Indy) at Tuesday's Fasig-Tipton November sale to buy out his partners, who campaigned the reigning champion 3-year-old filly for the partnership of Repole Stable, Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners, and Michael House. Consigned by Highgate Sales, agent II as hip 163, Nest is a full-sister to GI Santa Anita H. winner and Taylor Made stallion Idol, whose first foals will be born next year, and a half-sister to 2023 Jockey Club Derby Invitational S. Lost Ark...

More than $100,000 was raised during this year's Breeders' Cup Pledge, New Vocations Racehorse Adoption Program announced Monday. That total was driven by four horses with pledge connections--Fierceness (City of Light), Unquestionable (FR) (Wootton Bassett {GB}), Goodnight Olive (Ghostzapper) and Auguste Rodin (Ire) (Deep Impact {Jpn})--winning their races on Future Stars Friday and Championship Saturday. Additional pledges are still coming in as of Monday and final donations are being tallied. Now in its 14th year, the Pledge has raised more than a million dollars, with 100 percent of funds going...

Late last month, owner Mike Repole announced the formation of the National Thoroughbred Alliance (NTA), an organization charged with providing emergency triage to an industry struggling with fiscal ill-health for quite some time. For executive director of the NTA, Repole tapped Pat Cummings, who previously headed the Thoroughbred Idea Foundation, an organization focused on instituting change for racing's primary customers, the horseplayers and horse owners. At a press conference for the NTA's launch, Repole discussed his intentions in broad over-arching terms that were light on specifics. To put some meat...

ARCADIA, CA - The comparisons to the brilliant Uncle Mo began for 'TDN Rising Star' Fierceness (City of Light) following a spectacular, double-digit debut win a day before the GI Travers S. at Saratoga-Uncle Mo's, of course, took place on the undercard--but came to an abrupt halt following a dismal seventh at .55 cents on the dollar in a sloppy renewal of the GI Champagne S. They can safely return now. Just like Uncle Mo did for Repole Stable and Todd Pletcher at third asking beneath John Velazquez at the...

ARCADIA, CA - The imposing Bill Mott-trained duo of Just F Y I (Justify) (Juvenile Fillies) and champion Elite Power (Curlin) (Sprint) immediately caught the eye as the curtain was lifted at Santa Anita with a spectacular sunrise beneath the San Gabriel mountains on Breeders' Cup eve. Japanese superstar Songline (Jpn) (Kizuna {Jpn}), the 5-2 morning-line favorite for the Mile, began her marathon training session, while the horse to catch in the Dirt equivalent 'Rising Star' Zozos (Munnings) left the pony raring to go. John Gosden, represented by potential race...

LEXINGTON, KY - The Fasig-Tipton October Yearlings Sale concluded Thursday with a solid renewal which very nearly kept pace with its record-setting 2022 version even in the midst of a softening yearling market and a backdrop of uncertainty in the global economy and geo-political landscape. "It was a very successful 2023 Fasig-Tipton October sale," Fasig-Tipton President Boyd Browning, Jr. said after the last horse went through the ring Thursday evening. "The results were very similar to last year and very similar to the 2021 results, which is pretty remarkable when...

Owner Mike Repole's efforts to form a group that he hopes can help solve some of the sport's problems and create growth in an industry that has been in a downward spiral for decades took a step forward Thursday with Repole announcing that he has formed what he is calling the National Thoroughbred Alliance (NTA). Pat Cummings, who has headed the Thoroughbred Idea Foundation, has been hired as the alliance's executive director. Repole said he picked the name because he thought using the term alliance sent a message that the...

Mike Repole, who announced last weekend on CNBC's Spinster Stakes program that he was interested in forming an owners' association to address problems in the sport, issued an update on his progress Thursday night on the social media platform X. The update reads, in its entirety: "I am amazed and motivated at the overwhelming support that the new Association has received!!!!! I have a name for the association that is are awaiting final approval. Not only have so many people reached out for our cause to make the horse racing...

While I don't know Mike Repole, I do know about his business success and acumen. I also know about his repeated calls to improve and perhaps save the sport so many of us love. Let's be realistic, horse racing has been in a decline for 25 years.  I have personally considered giving up and moving on many times recently. Yet on a recent trip to Lexington to see my foals and horse friends I realized how much it still all means to me. I don't get the push back and...

  It was a huge week for Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners and its President and Founder Aron Wellman. Over a 24-hour period, Eclipse swept the two Grade I stakes races run during Keeneland's Fall Stars Weekend. It began with a win by Candied (Candy Ride {Arg}) in the GI Alcibiades S. on Friday. Twenty-four hours later, 'TDN Rising Star' Locked (Gun Runner) came through with a determined win in the GI Breeders' Futurity. Both will now head to Santa Anita for the Breeders' Cup. Eclipse couldn't quite pull off the trifecta...

In an interview with Nick Luck on Sunday's Spinster broadcast on NBC, Mike Repole called for the creation of a national owners' association that would "take back this game," from the entities that now control it. Repole indicated that he had started discussions with other interested owners and trainers, and expressed his discontent with the current state of the sport and how it is run, stressing that every other major sport is controlled at the ownership level. "The frustration level..." he said. "I mean, this year, even though our success...