LEXINGTON, Ky. – Mike Repole used to think partners were for dancing not horse ownership. Content to go it alone for more than a decade, Repole changed his philosophy about five years ago and has now totally embraced the concept of racing partnerships. He readily rattles off the names of nearly a dozen entities with whom he owns horses – Coolmore, Eclipse, Lane’s End, St. Elias, WinStar, and West Point just to name some. “I’m like the United Nations,” Repole said. Repole has altered his philosophy on life as well. The deaths in 2020 of his grandmother Assunta Guarnaccia and NBA star Kobe Bryant, with whom he became friends after Bryant bought into one of his businesses, made Repole reassess his sometimes intense nature. “I learned, being friends with Kobe, enjoy today no one’s promised tomorrow,” Repole said. “I’m trying to have more fun. Life is precious, you don’t really know whether you’ve got 30 more days or 30 more years. I’ve taken little bit of a different attitude – live every day like it’s your last and one day you will be right.” :: BREEDERS’ CUP 2022: See DRF’s special section with top contenders, odds, comments, news, and more for each division Repole, 53, is certainly enjoying life these days. Last weekend, he and his business partners marked the one-year anniversary of the sale of the remaining 85 percent of their sports-drink company BODYARMOR to Coca-Cola with a party in South Florida – all told the company sold for nearly $8 billion. This weekend, Repole hopes to celebrate the culmination of one of his finest years in horse ownership with a couple of wins at the Breeders’ Cup on Friday and Saturday at Keeneland. Repole, in partnership or by himself, has three top contenders in the Breeders’ Cup with Forte in Friday’s $2 million Juvenile, Chocolate Gelato in Friday’s $1 million Juvenile Fillies, and Nest in Saturday’s $2 million Distaff. That trio has combined to give Repole six of his seven Grade 1 stakes victories in 2022. His seventh came with Mo Donegal in the Belmont Stakes, where Repole’s horses finished one-two with Nest second. Repole had bought an interest in Mo Donegal – since retired from racing – from Donegal Racing just before this year’s Kentucky Derby. As a native New Yorker, winning the Belmont was at the top of Repole’s bucket list. Running one-two wasn’t even on it. “I couldn’t have scripted it any better,” Repole said. “I scripted winning the Belmont since I was 10 years old. I never scripted first and second. I’ll take first and last.” :: Bet the Breeders' Cup with a $200 First Deposit Match and FREE Formulator PPs. Join DRF Bets. Nest, whom Repole owns in partnership with Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners and Michael House, has come out of the Belmont to win three consecutive stakes – the Grade 1 Coaching Club American Oaks, Grade 1 Alabama, and Grade 2 Beldame. She could go off favored in a deep renewal of the Distaff, which includes Malathaat – whom Repole was the underbidder on as part of a partnership – Clairiere, and Society. Forte, a horse Repole owns in partnership with Vinnie and Teresa Viola’s St. Elias Stable, is already a two-time Grade 1 winner, having captured the Hopeful and Breeders’ Futurity. He figures to go off second choice in the $2 million Juvenile behind two-time Grade 1 winner Cave Rock. Chocolate Gelato is a horse Repole owns by himself, as he said, “Not every horse I have a partner on.” Coming off a dominant victory in the Grade 1 Frizette at Aqueduct, Chocolate Gelato could go favored in the Juvenile Fillies. Repole said he started to embrace partnersships when he tired of being outbid on horses by partnerships. That’s when he joined forces with Vinnie Viola, who races under the name St. Elias Stable. Among their first successes was Vino Rosso, who won the 2019 Breeders’ Cup Classic. Repole said being involved in partnerships has helped make the game more enjoyable. “Success is best when shared,” Repole said. :: Breeders' Cup Friday and Saturday Past Performances are available now! Save up to 36% on BC essentials with a DRF Package!  Repole understands that having three top contenders in the Breeders’ Cup – all trained by Todd Pletcher – doesn’t mean he’ll leave Keeneland with a win. “In this game, most times it’s only bad news,” Repole said. “Lately, it’s been a major, major blessing, you get into one of these streaks . . . I might win three Grade 1s [at Breeders’ Cup] or I might not win one for two years. Both are very possible.” However, one or more victories could put Repole in the conversation for an Eclipse Award as top owner. “He’s having an Eclipse [Award]-type year as an owner,” said Aron Wellman, managing partner of Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners. Wellman said Repole, with whom his outfit has partnered on eight to 10 horses over the years, is good for the sport. “Really, Mike is a great human being and a great partner,” Wellman said. “He’s still a kid from Queens, he’s got boiling-over enthusiasm for the sport, which is so important for all stakeholders. For a guy like Mike Repole to be in the game, to be heavily invested in the game, is beyond important for everybody from top to bottom.” Repole is indeed heavily invested in the game. This year alone he has purchased 95 yearlings. :: Get access to Breeders' Cup Clocker Reports with our special VIP Package and save off the retail price. Repole used to enjoy bringing his grandmother to the races. Now, he and his wife, Maria, share the sport with their 7-year-old daughter, Gioia, who is no longer allowed to leave the house without her lucky stuffed animal Bamboo. “Honestly, losing a Grade 1 was probably a lot tougher five years ago,” Repole said. “Now that Gioia loves the track and going to the races, even when you lose she gives you a hug. Maybe you didn’t lose, maybe you actually won.” Repole has won in the business world having sold multiple business. With that, he has been quite philanthropic. Last November, right after the sale of BODYARMOR was announced, Repole made a $50 million donation to Memorial Sloan Kettering for a research and patient care initiative. In recognition of that gift, Sloan Kettering renamed its Commack, N.Y., patient care facility the Nonna Garden Foundation Center in honor of Repole’s grandmother. Over the last year, Repole has donated $24 million to the Bryant family’s Mamba Mambacita Sports Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to creating positive impact for underserved boys and girls in sports. In March, Repole donated $20 million to the Naomi Berrie Diabetes Center at Columbia University. “I don’t take it for granted,” Repole said of his business success. “I know how blessed I am. It doesn’t have to work out this way.” :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.