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USATSI

As the self-proclaimed "commissioner" of horse racing, Mike Repole has called the sport's powers "some of the worst leadership in sports," described the Breeders' Cup schedulers as "stupid people" and identified the Jockey Club as "a blueblood scam."

And that was just in the last 15 days.

Repole, the 56-year-old billionaire horse owner, is uncaged, unfiltered and unapologetic. He says so himself on his X account (@repolestable).

And now, on the eve of the 2025 Breeders' Cup, Repole has a new cause célèbre: eliminating rabbits from horse racing or, at the very least, changing the rules regarding them. In this case "rabbits" refers to horses who are entered in races not to win but with the sole purpose of ensuring a fast, early pace to help the chances of a late-running stablemate.

Why is Repole so invested in changing something that has been allowed in horse racing since its inception? On Saturday, Repole's Fierceness will leave the starting gate in the $7 million Breeders' Cup Classic, North America's richest horse race, as the 5-2 morning-line favorite. He is the only horse in the field with any modicum of early speed, which is normally a huge edge. Or at least, he was the only horse in the field with any modicum of early speed until trainer Chad Brown entered both Sierra Leone and Contrary Thinking.

While Sierra Leone is a legitimate Classic contender (he won the race last year and is the co-second choice on the morning line this year, at 7-2), Contrary Thinking is not. The 5-year-old horse has just two wins in seven career starts, has lost his last two races by more than 80 lengths combined and doesn't have more than an allowance win on his résumé. He is the equine equivalent of Eddie the Eagle or the Jamaican bobsled team going for Winter Olympics gold.

What Contrary Thinking does have, however, is early speed. If all goes to plan, he will use that speed to ensure an honest early pace, prevent any horse from getting comfortable alone up front and set the race up for stablemate Sierra Leone, who took advantage of a hot early pace to win last year's Classic.

"The main objective [in entering Contrary Thinking] is get the field to just maybe string out just a touch to give everyone in the race a fair shot to pick their lane where they want to be instead of being a little bit bunched up," Brown told Caton Bredar of FanDuel Racing this week. "And, look, if nobody goes with the horse, I think the horse has a lot of ability."

Ever since the inclusion of Contrary Thinking in the Classic became a possibility, Repole has been vocal on X about the topic. He urged the Breeders' Cup and the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority to take action, saying the inclusion of a rabbit is a safety issue. He called upon the California Horse Racing Board to enforce its own rules, which say that a horse must be entered "with the intention to win." He has repeatedly trolled Contrary Thinking on social media, calling him an "emotional support rabbit" for Sierra Leone. 

Repole's petitioning failed, and Contrary Thinking will run in the Classic. But whether you agree with Repole or not, his crusade brought more drama to the Classic than it would have had, especially after Kentucky Derby winner Sovereignty had to be scratched from the race on Wednesday due to a fever.

Says Repole, "We are all fortunate I have a big, booming, loud voice."