Minutes after his beloved St. John’s basketball team lost to Duke in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament, a dejected Mike Repole stood in the Capital One Arena stands in his Red Storm jacket and shrugged.
Smiling morosely, he said to CNN Sports, “At least we have the Arkansas Derby tomorrow.’’
Such is the world that Repole, the business magnate, operates in. One sports door closes, another opens for the St. John’s alum who is equally devoted to the ponies.
But Repole’s sporting success has proven far more elusive than his golden touch in business. The founder of Vitamin Water, Repole sold that business for $4 billion and then started BodyArmor, a sports energy drink, eventually selling that for $5 billion.
Yet his Red Storm, the roster built at head coach Rick Pitino’s suggestion with Repole’s financial backing, still have not crested their way back into the Final Four, and his horses are 0 for 8 in the Kentucky Derby. Three - Uncle Mo, Forte and Fierceness - were favorites; Uncle Mo and Forte were scratched before the race and Fierceness finished 15th.
Repole will get another shot with another favorite on this first Saturday of May. Renegade, the horse he was itching to watch after the Sweet 16, not only won that Arkansas Derby, he was slated as the 4-1 pick in this year’s Kentucky Derby following yesterday’s post position draw.
Except, like most things in Repole’s sporting life, Renegade’s run will not come without complications. The Todd Pletcher-trained horse drew the dreaded No. 1 position, starting on the rail in the 20-horse field, which can be a traffic nightmare as the horses run for the first turn. The last horse to win from the rail was Ferdinand, a full 40 years ago.
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