LOUISVILLE, Ky. – On the eve of the 2011 Kentucky Derby, a downcast Mike Repole joined trainer Todd Pletcher on a podium in the press room at Churchill Downs to announce the scratch of Uncle Mo, the 2-year-old champion of 2010 and second choice on the morning line. The signs were there all week that Uncle Mo, dealing with what would ultimately be diagnosed as a liver disorder, wouldn’t make the race, though his connections entered hoping for a miracle that didn’t come. “If you could scratch the Derby favorite the day before the Kentucky Derby, how much tougher can this game get?” Repole said Monday at Churchill Downs. “You survive that, you pretty much can probably handle almost anything in this game.” Saturday evening, Repole hopes to be sitting at that same podium alongside Pletcher after Forte, the 2-year-old champion of 2022, runs in the 149th Kentucky Derby. Forte, a winner of six of seven starts, including four Grade 1 stakes, was made the 3-1 morning-line favorite for the Derby and, unlike 12 years ago with Uncle Mo, there are no negative signs coming into the race. :: Get the full DRF Kentucky Derby Clocker Report by Mike Welsch and the DRF Clocker Team “It’s kind of come full circle from one 2-year-old champ to another,” Repole said after Forte won the Florida Derby at Gulfstream Park. “The ride of Uncle Mo, the wheels fell off the bus. Everything that could’ve gone wrong, went wrong. It seems, knock on wood right now, things are just going in the right direction and this horse is getting better and better.” Repole, 54, has owned horses for about 18 years. He started with claimers before deciding to buy better stock and teaming up with Pletcher. It was Uncle Mo who brought Repole his first Grade 1 victory and became his first champion, with victories in 2010 in the Champagne and Breeders’ Cup Juvenile. “If it wasn’t for Uncle Mo, I might not be in this game,” Repole said. Repole is not only in the game, he’s all in. Over the past few years, the billionaire businessman has partnered up with other owners to buy hundreds of horses at auction. At the 2021 Keeneland September sale, Repole and partners bought 45 yearlings for $16.2 million. Last September, that number ballooned to 70 yearlings for $26.67 million. Last week, Repole bought six 2-year-olds at the OBS 2-year-olds in-training sale for a total of $2.245 million. Repole has 270 horses, a number that has prompted him to add more trainers to his roster. Among those getting horses from Repole are Michael McCarthy, George Weaver, David Donk, Rudy Rodriguez, and Brittany Russell. “I’m buying to get to this race,” Repole said of the Derby. Forte has brought Repole to the Derby for a seventh time. He has started seven horses in six runnings of this race, never really coming close to victory. Last year, Mo Donegal – a horse Repole bought a percentage of from Donegal Racing in the spring – finished fifth. Five weeks later, Mo Donegal would win the Belmont Stakes, the race Repole – a native of Queens – had coveted most. For good measure, Repole also finished second in the race with the filly Nest. “I wanted to win the Belmont, was very open about it. I got good news. We won the Belmont,” Repole said. “This” Repole added, referring to the Derby “is the race I want to win. This was always the second one, but I would have taken the second one first.” :: KENTUCKY DERBY 2023: Derby Watch, point standings, prep schedule, news, and more One of Repole’s Derby starters was Vino Rosso, who finished ninth in 2018. The following year, Vino Rosso would come back came back to win the Breeders’ Cup Classic. Repole owned Vino Rosso with Vinnie and Teresa Viola’s St. Elias Stable. That same partnership owns Forte, a colt they only paid $110,000 to purchase. Viola, owner of the NHL’s Florida Panthers, won the 2017 Kentucky Derby with Always Dreaming, a horse trained by Pletcher that he owned in partnership with Anthony and Maryellen Bonomo. Following Forte’s thrilling one-length victory in the Florida Derby, Viola said, “I want to win the Kentucky Derby for Mike much more than I want the horse win the Kentucky Derby for me and my family.” As usual, Repole will host a large gathering of friends and family at the Derby. Repole will make sure, win or lose, a good time will be had by all. “I told my family Sunday if we win this, it’s going to be great and if we don’t win this it’s going to be great,” Repole said. “I grew up in Queens. I shouldn’t be allowed to come to this race. Now having horses in this race, no one is more blessed than me.” :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.