Outwork offers Mike Repole shot at Derby redemption

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Mike Repole wants a picture.

He is waiting for the 3-year-old colt he owns, Outwork, to finish walking the shedrow at Churchill Downs Barn 40 after his morning workout and bath. When Outwork is guided into stall 35, Repole has the setting he envisioned.

He twists the wrapper off a peppermint, beckons his wife, Maria, scoops 10-month-old daughter Gioia into his arms and heads toward Outwork. A friend is pressed into photographer duty to record the moment. Repole feeds the peppermint to his Kentucky Derby horse and pats Outwork's nose while holding his baby girl with his wife at his side – the loves of his life gathered in one frame. Picture perfect.

Thirty minutes earlier, the 47-year-old Repole led an entourage of 12 onto the track to watch Outwork gallop. And when I say onto the track, I mean the actual racing strip – not usually the province of pedestrians. There was a huge throng of people in the Churchill Barn area Thursday morning to watch the Derby horses work at 8:30 a.m., but only one group was on the dirt without being on horseback – Team Repole.

By Thursday night, the posse swells to 65. If you were booking odds on the most enthusiastic Kentucky Derby ownership entourages of 2016, this would be your 4-5 favorite.

I asked Outwork's trainer, Todd Pletcher, how excited Repole is for this Derby.

"On a scale of 1 to 10," Pletcher said, "he's a 20."

I ran that by the 47-year-old beverage entrepreneur.

"I think that's a little low," Repole deadpanned. "I think it's closer to 25."

Arriving here on this stage, with a rapidly improving horse that comes with an emotional attachment as well, is a culmination of adolescent fantasies and adult ambitions for Mike Repole. A classic New York wiseacre, he softens up when discussing the Derby.

For a guy whose motto is, "Think big, dream bigger," this is about as large as it gets.

____________________

The Repole house in Queens was a lot closer to Aqueduct Racetrack than Holy Cross High in Flushing, and there were many school days when a young Mike Repole chose the track over the two-bus route to school. Thus began a love affair funded by larceny.

"I'd borrow $10 from my mother's purse and $10 from my father's pants pocket," Repole said. "If I had a good day, I'd return the investment. If I didn't, I'd have to explain why it was gone. My mom's a little bit sharper than my dad, so at the end I started taking more from my dad."

Too young to place his own bets, Repole would befriend an old man and ask him to place his wagers for him. But he was a quick study of the Racing Form, sharpening his handicapping skills well before he had mastered some of his academic work.

Turning a profit was an early allure for Repole. At age 16, he had two magazine subscriptions: Sports Illustrated and Money Magazine. The son of Italian immigrants didn't grow up with much in the way of creature comforts.

Mike and his brother, Gerard, shared one bedroom and his parents had the other. His grandmother and aunt slept on pull-out couches. Home life was typical New York Italian-American: Mike grew up speaking Italian at home and didn't learn English until kindergarten.

Benny Repole worked 25 years as a waiter at the Marriott Lexington on the East Side of Manhattan, and wife Annie got up before dawn to commute to her job as a seamstress. They had the equivalent of fifth-grade educations, Mike said.

"We weren't poor," Repole said. "But we weren't middle class. There were a lot of things I wanted as a little kid, and my mom would say no. As a 13-year-old I thought she was cheap. I didn't realize we just didn't have the money for it.

"I wanted Nike sneakers, she got me Converse. I wanted nicer clothes, she got whatever she could find. It made me want things. It drove me to want more in life."

One thing his parents made sure they could afford was a Catholic education for Gerard and Mike. But Mike never saw the classroom as the fastest route to getting those finer things he desired.

After graduating from Holy Cross, he took a leisurely five years to complete a Sports Management degree at nearby St. John's University, earning a 2.2 grade-point average along the way.

"I told my mom and dad sports management was a five-year degree program, so they thought I was really smart," Repole said, smiling. "My brother decided to become a cop, so I got to use his college money for my fifth year, which was very nice of him."

Upon graduation, Repole still wasn't ready to become the business success he is today. He stayed at home – still sharing the room with his brother until he was 28 years old – and spent the first 18 months after college doing very little. Unless you consider mastering Tecmo Bowl an ambitious pursuit.

"I wanted to be GM of the Mets or coach of St. John's," he said. "They didn't call. That was surprising. When they didn't call, I said, ‘All right, let's make some money.' "

Repole got into the beverage business at an entry level, learning the trade until it was time to make his big move. In 1999, he co-founded a company that turned Vitaminwater into a national brand and turned Repole into a rich man. In 2007, Coca-Cola bought the company for $4.1 billion.

His latest venture is BodyArmor, which he bills as a "good-for-you" sports drink. Repole is taking aim at the king, Gatorade, and has lined up an impressive array of athletes as endorsers: Andrew Luck, Richard Sherman, Klay Thompson, James Harden and Dustin Johnson, to name just a few.

The Vitaminwater score gave Repole the money he needed to dive into the sport of his childhood dreams, horse racing. He wasn't going in as a two-dollar bettor, but as a thoroughbred owner.

After several years of owning cheaper horses, Repole longed for a shot at the big time. So he hooked up with the trainer he had watched dominate the New York racing circuit, Todd Pletcher.

"I wanted to learn the game, to get an education in horse racing," Repole said. "I did that for about five years. I knew I would end up with Todd Pletcher – I watched him from afar. I was sick and tired of watching him go take winner's circle pictures while I sat with my family, upset.

"I've always had this drive to win. I've been very competitive my whole life. To me, second is the first loser. Todd knew how to win."

The partnership was successful almost immediately. Repole bought a yearling in September 2009 for $220,000 and named him Uncle Mo. His 2-year-old campaign in 2010 was smashing, highlighted by wins in the Grade I Champagne Stakes and Breeders Cup Juvenile. That was enough to earn Uncle Mo the title of 2-year-old champion.

Everything proceeded according to plan until the Wood Memorial, Uncle Mo's last prep race for the 2011 Kentucky Derby. He went off at 1-9 odds but was beaten in a shocking upset.

Still, he was pointed toward the Derby and considered a prime contender. But things kept going wrong – the horse kept losing weight, and an army of veterinarians couldn't figure out why. Finally, he was diagnosed with a rare liver disorder and scratched the day before the race.

"For me, it wasn't so much about Uncle Mo being scratched that was devastating," Repole said. "It was whether he was going to survive. Here's a horse that had been such a major part of our family and taken us on such a ride, that I dreamed about as a 10-year-old kid, it was tough. It was a very stressful time."

Repole had another horse in the 2011 Derby, Stay Thirsty, but he was not a serious contender and finished 12th. Two years later, Repole was back with Overanalyze, another long shot, which finished 11th. For a while it looked like he missed his big chance with Uncle Mo – a chance that comes around rarely in this capricious sport.

But what Uncle Mo could not do himself on the racetrack might now be done by his progeny. This is where this Kentucky Derby gets even better for Mike Repole.

____________________

Wednesday morning, Team Repole went to Churchill to see Outwork, who will start from the 15th spot at 15-1. Then they drove an hour into bluegrass country to see some old friends.

At WinStar Farm, they visited Nonna Mia, the broodmare Repole owned and raced. The name is Italian for "my grandmother," and is the mother of Outwork. She is named for Repole's 89-year-old grandmother, Assunta Guaraccia.

And at Ashford Stud, they visited Uncle Mo. He is Outwork's father. He is also the sire of Derby favorite Nyquist, 20-1 entrant Mo Tom, and two Kentucky Oaks entrants, Mokat and Mo d'Amour.

Needless to say, his stallion career is off to a remarkable start. Which means there could be more stars wearing the orange and blue of Repole Stable (Mets colors) in the years to come.

But first there is this Derby week. There are all of Uncle Mo's offspring, and those 65 people coming in from all over to celebrate.

"This will be like Thanksgiving, Easter and Christmas Day back-to-back-to-back," Repole said.

Among the entourage is Nonna Mia herself, Repole's grandmother. She will be wearing her Repole Stable hat – and hoping she can see the race.

"She's 4-foot-11," Repole said. "And shrinking."

Four generations of the Italian family will be at Churchill Downs, brought together by a horse who carried them here in an attempt to fulfill his sire's promise. If Outwork wins the roses, there might be no containing Team Repole. The winner's circle could be wild.

"From my 10-month-old daughter to my 89-year-old grandmother, we'll all be here together," said Mike Repole, the big dreamer who schemed it all as a kid. "It's a special time."