Letter to the Editor: Mike Repole’s Mission

[Wandering Eyes]

Like any responsible stakeholder in the Thoroughbred racing industry, I have followed with keen interest Mike Repole's now 2 1/2-year crusade to reform, disrupt, rejuvenate and revitalize horse racing, breeding and aftercare.

Mike's mission surely predates that timeline, but it was in October 2023 that he formalized his intentions with the formation of the National Thoroughbred Alliance and the appointment of Pat Cummings as Executive Director.

I am not privy to any private meetings or correspondence between Mike and Pat and the industry's power brokers. What we all do have access to are Mike's many public statements across social media, print interviews, podcasts and television appearances.

Over time, Mike has been relentlessly critical of several prominent industry organizations and their representatives, most notably The Jockey Club, the Breeders' Cup, TOBA and the NTRA.

His tactics are often brash, offensive, vulgar, uncouth and harsh. Choose your own adjective. Some people like how he posts on X, some people cringe. Mike is disruptive, an undeniable product of his business success.

You can call him whatever you want, but no one is calling him wrong. Across dozens of conversations totaling hundreds of hours with industry stakeholders since the NTA was formed, not one person has told me that Mike is wrong about the issues driving the decline of our key indicators, or threatening the long-term viability of our industry.

Not one. Not a single soul.

In the interest of transparency, Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners has partnered with Repole on several horses over time, including our champion Nest. We are not currently partnered on any racehorses, broodmares or stallions.

Eclipse is partnered with several members of The Jockey Club, TOBA and Breeders' Cup, all of whom I consider friends and wonderful racing partners. I am also a Member of Breeders' Cup, in addition to other Boards with individuals who are Members of The Jockey Club and TOBA.

For 2 1/2 years, Mike has been throwing punches at The Jockey Club. Until Jan. 27, The Jockey Club refused to engage publicly. If they believed their rebuttal was a haymaker, some decisive blow, they missed completely. Not only did it fail to land, it left them exposed. Whatever residual public support The Jockey Club enjoyed evaporated as stakeholders read a statement that was ill-advised, weak, non-substantive and overtly gaslighting.

Any lingering belief that Repole was misguided or irrational vanished just as quickly. The defensive, excuse-laden response achieved the opposite of its intent. And whatever confidence remained in The Jockey Club's leadership has now given way to doubt and a sobering realization that Mike is onto something.

And that something is really big and potentially industry shifting.

In the wake of some serious soul searching, and after absorbing The Jockey Club's Jan. 27 rebuttal directed at Mike's demands for accountability, I can no longer concern myself with the risk of offending individuals who wear titles which should warrant respect, nor friends or business partners.

Mine and Mike Repole's styles could not be more opposite. But, this mission is not about personalities. This mission is not personal. This mission is about principle.

On what side of racing history do we all want to be on?

For too long, I have been a complacent and complicit member of the silent majority. The stakes are too high to remain silent. They are too high right now and far too high for the generations that will follow us.

I genuinely hope that breaking my own silence will inspire others to support Mike's mission for the betterment of our industry.

It's time.

Aron Wellman is the Founder & President of Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners

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