The outspoken Thoroughbred owner says he has acquired nearly 1.5% of Churchill Downs Incorporated, as the company’s stock trades near its lowest level in years.

Thoroughbred owner Mike Repole on the track at Churchill Downs before the 2026 Kentucky Derby.(Eric Crawford)

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB+WAVE) — Mike Repole has spent months telling horse racing’s leaders what he thinks they’re doing wrong.

Now he says he’s putting his money where his mouth is.

The billionaire entrepreneur, prominent Thoroughbred owner and outspoken critic of racing’s traditional leadership announced Thursday that he has purchased one million shares of Churchill Downs Incorporated, a stake he says represents nearly 1.5% of the Louisville-based company that owns the Kentucky Derby.

And he may not be finished buying.

“Over the past four days, I’ve purchased 1 million shares and close to a 1.5% stake in Churchill Downs, and I may acquire more,” Repole wrote on X. “I’m extremely excited about the possibilities.”

The purchases have not been independently confirmed. Investors generally aren’t required to disclose holdings in a public company to the Securities and Exchange Commission until they cross the 5% ownership threshold.

At Thursday’s closing stock price of $76.16, one million shares would have a market value of approximately $76.2 million. That does not necessarily represent what Repole paid. He said he accumulated the shares over four days, and his actual purchase prices have not been disclosed.

The timing is worth noting. Churchill Downs stock hit a new 52-week low of $73.08 during Thursday’s trading before rebounding to close up 2.99%. It traded near $150 in 2023 and around $145 as recently as late 2024.

If his numbers are accurate, Repole would rank among Churchill’s significant individual shareholders. The company’s published ownership information lists CEO Bill Carstanjen with approximately 2.4% of its shares and investor Daniel P. Harrington with approximately 1.8%. Large institutional investors hold considerably bigger positions, including BlackRock Institutional Trust Company, with approximately 8.1%.

Churchill Downs Inc. has not responded to Repole’s announcement.

A campaign against racing’s old guard

Repole, who made his fortune building beverage brands including Vitaminwater and Bodyarmor, has become an increasingly confrontational voice in a sport he believes is failing to reach its commercial potential.

He has taken aim at The Jockey Club, Keeneland, the Breeders’ Cup and the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority, known as HISA. He has questioned overlapping leadership among racing’s major organizations, challenged Keeneland over the reporting of a yearling sale and offered as much as $10 million of his own money toward an independent investigation of racing’s leadership and institutions.

His complaints include allegations about governance and transparency that have not been independently substantiated.

Repole has taken to calling himself horse racing’s “commissioner,” a title he wore across the front of a T-shirt at Keeneland’s September yearling sale. No one appointed him. But that hasn’t stopped him from campaigning as though the job were his, challenging the people and organizations he believes have failed the sport.

He points to declining foal crops, fewer racetracks and short fields as evidence of an industry in trouble. He argues that racing’s leadership has failed the smaller owners, breeders, trainers and horseplayers on whom its future depends.

Mike Repole, Thoroughbred owner and self described "commissioner" of horse racing, speaks with... — Mike Repole, Thoroughbred owner and self described "commissioner" of horse racing, speaks with reporters about the state of the industry on the backside of Churchill Downs on April 30, 2026.(Eric Crawford)

“If horse racing ever wants to become BIG again, it needs to start protecting the SMALL,” he wrote in one recent post.

“Horse racing needs more education, real marketing, innovation, and evolution,” he wrote Thursday. “It also needs stronger leadership and greater accountability from the Old Guard racing entities that, in my opinion, have held the industry back for far too long.”

Churchill as an ally?

That makes his approach to Churchill Downs notable.

Churchill is among the most powerful companies in American racing. Yet while Repole has publicly gone after Keeneland and The Jockey Club, he has repeatedly praised Churchill for doing things he believes the rest of the industry should emulate.

In June, he applauded Churchill’s efforts to promote Thoroughbred aftercare. Days later, he defended the Kentucky Derby against criticism from a Breeders’ Cup board member, questioning why another of racing’s major organizations would take aim at its biggest attraction.

Then, on Aug. 3, when Churchill Downs and the New York Racing Association announced a new championship series for three-year-old colts, Repole praised the two organizations for working together, along with competing television networks NBC and FOX.

“I applaud Churchill Downs and NYRA for working together in the best interests of the sport and for recognizing that evolution requires innovation, real change and the courage to do things differently,” he wrote.

He acknowledged that one racing series wouldn’t transform the industry by itself. But he argued that the collaboration behind it offered a model for the future.

“Powerful entities and influential leaders working together, collaborating and thinking beyond their own self-interest, that is what can turn this industry around,” he wrote.

That history puts Thursday’s investment announcement in a different light.

Repole’s public statements suggest he sees Churchill not as another piece of racing’s old guard to be challenged, but as a potential ally in his campaign to change the sport.

And unlike Keeneland or The Jockey Club, Churchill is publicly traded. Repole can now make his argument as a shareholder, at a time when the company’s stock has lost roughly half its value from its highs.

He called the Kentucky Derby the sport’s global crown jewel, praised Churchill’s assets and expressed enthusiasm about working with CEO Bill Carstanjen and the company’s board.

“I really look forward to working with CEO Bill Carstanjen, his board, and management team to help turn that potential into both short term and long term results,” Repole wrote Thursday.

“I believe a meaningful ownership stake in Churchill gives me the greatest opportunity to help create value for Churchill shareholders AND make a positive financial impact across all of racing,” he added.

A valuable company in a struggling sport

Churchill Downs Incorporated is considerably more than the racetrack on Central Avenue. The company, which trades on the Nasdaq under the symbol CHDN, operates live racing, historical horse racing facilities, online wagering and regional casinos.

It has invested heavily in turning the Kentucky Derby into a premium sports and entertainment property, even as the broader Thoroughbred industry has struggled.

That contrast is central to Repole’s argument. The 2025 Kentucky Derby’s television audience peaked at 24.4 million viewers, according to Nielsen, evidence of the sport’s enormous reach even as the broader industry struggles.

“To me, that’s a major proof point of how BIG this sport can become,” Repole wrote.

There are limits to what his investment can do. A stake of about 1.5% doesn’t give Repole control of Churchill Downs, a seat on its board or any guarantee of influence over its decisions. It could give him a louder voice, especially if he keeps buying or draws support from other investors.

Repole is one of Thoroughbred racing’s most recognizable owners. He co-owned Belmont Stakes winner Mo Donegal and Breeders’ Cup Classic winner Vino Rosso, and he is a co-owner of the United Football League. In recent posts, he has described conversations with political leaders and expressed interest in buying Gulfstream Park.

For Churchill Downs, the question is what Repole wants as a shareholder, and whether the company has any interest in helping him get it.

For horse racing, the stakes are larger.

Repole has spent months arguing that the sport needs a new direction. Now he says he owns a piece of one of its most powerful companies.

The question is whether that gives him something his social media posts haven’t: the leverage to do something about it.

Home

CRAWFORD | Billionaire Mike Repole says he’s bought 1 million shares of Churchill Downs, wants to shake up horse racing