Mike Repole, the Billionaire Renegade, Returns to the Kentucky Derby With Hope and a Lawsuit

Key facts

• Mike Repole is a self-made billionaire who founded Glaceau (Vitaminwater, Smartwater) and sold it to Coca-Cola for over $4 billion in 2007.
• Repole has owned 12 Kentucky Derby starters, with 0 wins and 3 scratches of favorites (Uncle Mo, Grade, Forte).
• His 2025 Derby favorite, Renegade, drew the No. 1 post position, which has not produced a winner in 40 years.
• Repole plans to file a lawsuit against The Jockey Club next week, accusing the organization of obstructing progress.
• He is bringing 76 guests to the Derby, including family and UFL players, and expects to foot the entire bill.
• Renegade is co-owned by Robert and Lawana Low, who bred the horse and bought back 50% after Repole's phone call.
• Repole's first big horse, Uncle Mo, scratched the morning of the 2011 Derby due to a gastrointestinal infection.
• Repole refers to himself as 'The Commissioner,' a critique of horse racing's lack of central leadership.

A Billionaire’s Bitter Hope

Mike Repole arrives at the Kentucky Derby like a man throwing a party he fully expects to ruin for himself. He brings 76 people — friends, family, football players from the United Football League — and a bill he knows he will pay alone. 'Seventy-five are going to have a great, great, great time,' he said Thursday. 'And then there's me. And I also get the bill, so that's pretty sad. But that's OK.' That self-deprecating line captures the paradox of the Derby for Repole: a beautifully dressed anxiety attack with mint juleps. For all his wealth — built from selling Glaceau to Coca-Cola for more than $4 billion — he is reduced to a guy hoping this is the year. This will be his 12th Derby starter. He is 0-8, with three heart-breaking scratches of favorites: Uncle Mo (2011, gastrointestinal infection), Grade (morning of race), and Forte (2022, foot bruise, a decision Repole disagreed with).

The Renegade Favorite

This year, Repole’s hope rests on a horse named Renegade, the Derby favorite. The name, he says, was chosen a year and a half ago, long before the colt became the one to beat. 'Maybe there’s something meant to be about this race and this horse,' Repole said Thursday outside Todd Pletcher’s barn at Churchill Downs. Renegade drew the No. 1 post position, a spot that has not produced a Derby winner in 40 years. Repole, ever the disruptor, sees it as fitting: 'What would be more fitting than that for a loudmouth, self-made billionaire disruptor from Queens who doesn’t let up for even a second?' The horse is co-owned by Robert and Lawana Low, longtime horse folks from Missouri, after Repole made a phone call asking if they wanted to buy back 50 percent of a horse they bred.

A Crusade Against the Establishment

Repole is not content to simply run a horse. On the eve of the Derby, he threatened to drop a lawsuit next week targeting The Jockey Club, an organization he has frequently attacked on social media. 'I think I’m on a bit of a racing crusade right now,' he said. 'That makes me a little bit of a renegade. I named him a year and a half ago, not thinking we’d be here with the Derby favorite. But maybe that’s the sign of times to come.' He calls himself 'The Commissioner' — a nickname meant as a critique of a sport where nobody seems to be in charge. 'What are they going to do? Sue me? Fine me? Throw me out of the game? I’d be lucky if they did that. But I’m not gonna go away. I got in this to change the sport.'

From Queens to the Winner’s Circle

Repole’s path to the Derby began as a teenager skipping school to place bets at Aqueduct. The son of working-class immigrants, he graduated from St. John’s and worked in beverage sales before founding Glaceau, which produced Smartwater and Vitaminwater. After the $4 billion sale to Coca-Cola in 2007, he became a Thoroughbred owner, winning the Travers, Breeders’ Cup Classic, and Belmont Stakes. His first big horse, Uncle Mo, was the Derby favorite in 2011 but scratched the morning of the race. Three years ago, Forte was scratched due to a foot bruise. Fierceness finished 15th as the 3-1 favorite two years ago. Repole has also invested in Bodyarmor, No Bull shoes and apparel, and the United Football League, which he is trying to make a hit.

Family, Luck, and the Number 1 Post

This year, Repole’s parents, both in their 80s, are coming to the Derby for the first time. He sees something karmic in the timing. His jockey, Irad Ortiz, is widely considered one of the best yet to win a Derby. And the No. 1 post position, a statistical long shot, feels like a final twist in a story full of them. 'Maybe there’s something meant to be about this race and this horse,' Repole repeated. But he knows the math of the Derby is less arithmetic than theology. 'If you told a 15-year-old kid from Queens he would one day own a horse in the Kentucky Derby — not once, but a dozen times — he would have signed the contract in blood. He would not have read the fine print that says the contract comes with losing.'

What Comes Next

Win or lose on Saturday, Repole plans to follow through on his lawsuit against The Jockey Club. He has not disclosed the specific claims but has made clear his frustration with what he sees as a complacent, entrenched elite. 'I’m not gonna go away,' he said. For now, he is focused on Renegade and the 76 guests who will cheer him on. 'I’m bringing 76 people in this week,' he said. 'Seventy-five are going to have a great, great, great time.' The 76th? He will be hoping, as always, that this year is different.

The bottom line

• Mike Repole, a self-made billionaire, is seeking his first Kentucky Derby win after 12 starts and three scratched favorites.
• His 2025 Derby favorite, Renegade, drew the No. 1 post position, which has not produced a winner in 40 years.
• Repole plans to sue The Jockey Club, accusing it of obstructing progress in horse racing.
• He has built a beverage empire (Glaceau, Bodyarmor) and now invests in the UFL, No Bull, and St. John’s basketball.
• Repole’s parents, in their 80s, are attending the Derby for the first time, adding a personal stake to the race.
• Despite his wealth and success, Repole remains winless at the Derby, a record he calls 'the contract comes with losing.'