[pensive music playing]
[Nick Luck] They call it the greatest two minutes in sport.
[rhythmic ticking]
[crowd cheering]
[announcer] They're in the gate.
[Mike Repole] It's an obsession.
The stress and the anxiety of having a horse like this.
[Frankie Dettori] They got this sixth sense. They feel what you feel.
[music swells]
[crowd exclaims]
[Mike] Go! Go! Go!
Come on, Papa!
-Come on! -Slip up the inside!
Get out of the rail!
[girl screaming, echoing]
[music continues]
[Michael Iavarone] American racing revolves around the Triple Crown.
The Preakness Stakes, the Belmont Stakes…
[camera shutters clicking]
…and then, of course, the jewel of the Triple Crown,
the Kentucky Derby.
[unsettling string music playing]
[speaking indistinctly]
[Michael] 20,000 horses born every year.
Twenty in that starting gate.
-You and your little Twitter feud. -Just Mike's loud mouth I get tired of.
[Mike] I'm not in it for second. Second is the first loser to me.
[John Stewart] It's a bull's-eye you try to hit.
Make me look good, will you?
[Umberto Rispoli] Cars, motorbikes, you can press the brake.
Horse racing, you can't.
[music swells]
[man] She just became a mom,
and I wouldn't want to put her on any horse where something might happen.
My agent is telling me I'm not gonna make it.
[stifles a sob]
[Mike] You gotta be wired a little bit differently
to hop on top of a thousand-pound animal
and run 40 miles per hour with an ambulance chasing you.
-[bell rings] -[crowd cheers]
-Heavenly Father, bless us as a team. -[Frankie] I'm not ready to retire.
-[Larry Demeritte] All is in Your hands. -[Jamie Hernandez] You got it!
[Frankie] I'd rather die on a horse than die of boredom.
-Get out of there! -[Mike] Come on!
[crowd exclaims]
I don't wanna watch all this bullshit.
[Michael] We won the Kentucky Derby.
You need to bottle it, 'cause that's better than any drug out there.
-[announcer] Down to the wire! -Run him down!
[announcer] Who's it going to be?
Oh, it's a photo at the Derby!
[triumphant music plays, then fades]
-[violin plays somber tune] -[thunder rumbles]
[energetic music playing]
[music fades]
Can we look at each other? I see.
I'm trying to look more this way. I don't want my nose on the side profile.
-Michael Iavarone. -No. You have to say, "I am."
-Oh, oh, oh, I missed the "I am." -[Jules giggles]
I am Michael Iavarone.
We got a little champagne.
We haven't eaten, so we might as well drink.
[women laugh]
Look at the life essentials that exist in there.
Thirty-six bottles of champagne.
I'm Jules Iavarone.
We've got magnesium.
Ooh! [laughs]
[Michael] That is so depressing.
Vitamins, skin care. That's what I invest in.
Him? Bottles.
[upbeat techno music playing]
-That's what he likes. -Racehorses.
Racehorses, obviously. Racehorses and bottles.
Racehorses lead to bottles.
-That's where the misunderstanding is. -[whispers] Sorry.
I could go and buy bottles all day,
but if I don't have racehorses, we have nothing to celebrate.
[Jules] Yeah.
[Michael] People take me as this guy who's flashy with a lot of money,
but they just don't know me.
He's changed his suit three times.
[Michael] This is the Ferrari of tanning beds.
The truth of the matter was, I grew up from virtually nothing.
[upbeat music playing]
I was the guy with the… the stick-on swoosh on the Nike sneakers.
I graduated college, and I applied for a job.
It said, "Earn a million dollars in your first year."
And, uh, I walked into a broker dealer
that was right out of Wolf of Wall Street.
I had no idea what I was stepping into.
It's afforded me a great lifestyle,
and it's given me the opportunity to do something I dreamed of as a kid.
When your horse is coming to the line in front in a Triple Crown race,
there's nothing like it.
[string music playing]
Back in 2008 with Big Brown, we won the Kentucky Derby.
[announcer] And they're off in the Kentucky Derby!
[announcer 2] It's gonna be Big Brown bounding home
to a convincing win in the run for the roses!
[Michael] What are the odds of winning the Kentucky Derby?
You talk about 150 people that have ever experienced that in history.
[announcer 2] …of the 133rd Preakness Stakes.
And there he is, the story, Big Brown.
[Michael] He showed up at the Preakness. He was a rock star.
[announcer 2] Big Brown has seized the lead, and he is pulling away.
[Michael] He wins the race by a pole.
[announcer 2] He waltzes home to win the Preakness.
No one's ever been close to Big Brown.
It's now on to Belmont
and the elusive Triple Crown.
[Michael] You win the first two legs of the Triple Crown as an owner,
what went from euphoria now to this immense pressure.
And then
you don't win the Belmont.
I appreciate and respect the game, and understand how hard it is.
Now I wanna win the Derby.
He wants to win the Derby again so I can experience it.
'Cause I wasn't there. I… I met him after.
[Michael] I've made this commitment to Jules that I would get her there.
[rock and roll music playing]
This has become an obsession to us.
[John] Who is the dude in the suit over there?
-[man] Michael Iavarone. -[John] Who?
[man] Michael Iavarone.
I've seen him at a couple of races before.
It's interesting. Pretty… pretty, uh, exotic.
[Michael] There is crazy, unbelievable money in this game.
-Is he a… a horse owner? -Uh, yes.
[Nick] In the world of horse racing,
there are trainers, jockeys,
and the owners.
A jockey is a… a man or woman
who has to eat very little
and perform to an outrageously high level.
The role of a trainer is to condition and prepare the horse for the race day.
And the beauty of an owner's role is that it can be everything or nothing.
You can go and spend the money,
send the horse to the trainer, or get them to pick the horse,
and you just watch the horse run, pick up the trophy, go home.
But quite a lot of owners, especially nowadays,
I'm not saying they're micromanagers, but they want to be all over it.
[music continues]
-You doing good? -Yeah, everything's good.
-Good luck, man. -Take care.
[Michael] The big money owners own the majority of the horses.
That guy that I just was shaking hands with,
he founded Vitaminwater.
Sold it for five billion dollars.
You look at Mike Repole,
multibillionaire,
he spends 20-plus million dollars a year on yearlings.
Unlike other billionaires in the game that go to the auctions
and they buy 30, 40, 50 horses,
I am more of a sniper.
I find horses that have been successful already
and try to partner up with the existing owners.
I've been around enough good horses.
If he don't run a huge one, I don't know who is.
So I buy a percentage of the horse
after they've proven that they can compete at higher levels.
They call it Derby dreaming.
20,000 horses born every year.
Twenty in that starting gate.
And that math is tough.
[music fades]
[blows air]
What the fuck is this?
Right away I'm sitting on it?
All right.
Mike Repole, take one.
We only need one take. You'll never use that again. Throw it out.
[string music playing]
[producer] Introduce yourself.
Mike Repole, known as Mike from Queens.
Entrepreneur.
Brands like Vitaminwater and BODYARMOR.
Got into horse racing as a 13-year-old kid
cutting out of school.
Um, hope my parents don't see this because they're not aware of that.
Everything I do in my life, I do to win.
-[crowd cheering] -[announcer] It's a vintage performance
by Vino Rosso!
[Mike] My daughter Gioia was three years old.
We played a little game of Candy Land,
and I had to make a decision on whether I wanted to let her win.
I thought about it for less than a second, and I said, "I'm going for the win."
Mike from Queens is no different today than he was 40 years ago.
I was a stellar C student.
I had a tough major, sports management.
Very tough. Told my parents it was a five-year degree.
Uh, it was four, but I just took an extra year.
Oh, yeah!
That's what we want!
Oh, yeah!
I celebrate really, really loud.
Watch this!
Before, where everyone has, you know, a suit and tie,
and, you know, I had Muffy and Buffy to my left
and this blue blood to my right,
where everything was just a golf clap.
I think I've changed the game.
They're going fast!
I didn't get invited. I really don't belong.
I just forced my way in, and I'm not leaving.
[music fades]
As a 13-year-old kid,
my dream was to own champions in horse racing.
I bought my first horse in 2004,
and I've been in the game for almost 20 years.
[horses snort]
Three hundred twenty-five horses is very costly.
But we win a lot of races.
We have a great operation with stallions that are getting bred.
We've really built one of the top racing stables in the United States.
We have a great relationship with Todd Pletcher.
I joined Todd in 2008.
I just watched him from a distance.
When I say distances, I watched him pass by
as they were going to the winner's circle as I was losing to them.
[upbeat music playing]
[announcer] Dream comes true!
Always Dreaming has won the Kentucky Derby!
[announcer 2] And a second Kentucky Derby for Todd Pletcher.
I say, if you can't beat 'em, join 'em.
[announcer 3] Mo Donegal has won the Belmont Stakes!
[announcer] Todd Pletcher wins his fourth Belmont Stakes as a trainer.
Let's go.
I just defended my friend Todd Pletcher against somebody. I'm not gonna say who.
But, man, did I fucking kill that person on your defense.
-It was unbelievable how I protect you. -Really?
Give me a hug. It's unbelievable.
You know what? It made me feel good. I thought I was doing it for you.
-But I was doing it for both of us. -Self-therapy.
[upbeat music playing]
[Mike] The Breeders' Cup is a two-day event, first weekend in November.
When you have the Breeders' Cup Juvenile champ,
you have the Kentucky Derby favorite.
I've been blessed to be in that spot two times.
The first time with Uncle Mo in 2010,
and last year with Forte.
[announcer 3] And Forte has upset Cave Rock
to win the Breeders' Cup Juvenile!
Neither one won the Kentucky Derby.
I'm O for nine in the Derby.
-[horse neighs] -[Todd Pletcher] All right.
-[Mike] Come here. -[Todd] Where is he?
[Mike] Fierceness. Ah.
I have another chance with Fierceness.
Pretty incredibly talented colt.
I still own his mom. I still own his dad. And he's part of the family.
He's really special and talented. Makes you wanna dream.
And, you know, I always say, "Think big, dream bigger."
Now, Todd, how do you feel about the juvenile race?
[Todd] We're rolling the dice, y'know.
He's had one race that would've made him the favorite
and one race that would make him the longest shot on the board.
[Mike] I'm not going to run him unless he's ready to win the Juvenile.
Fierceness would be going in with a race
that shocked the world how talented he was.
[announcer 4] Fierceness will win by double digits.
And then in the Champagne, it was a little rainy. Took a bad step out.
[announcer 2] They're off.
And it was a bobbling start for number six, Fierceness.
[Mike] And ran a head-scratching race.
We know Fierceness is the most talented horse in this crop.
When he wins, he wins off the charts.
But there are so many talented horses
and so many talented jockeys.
A lot of times, just wanting it more than the next person,
you almost manifest your success.
When you can survive through the toughest of times,
um, that's when you know you're gonna become great.
["Right on Time" by Sir Henry Rawlinson, Chrisjenkins & Alex Nova playing]
[upbeat Latin music playing]
[Frankie] Can you ask him to get me the champagne, please?
-Thank you. Don't drink it. -There's something breaking this.
Honey, he's back. He's back.
Too lovely beyond words.
Come on.
There he is.
[Frankie] Woo-hoo!
[Catherine Dettori] Oh, I love you.
How nice it is just to have this time.
-Isn't it? -After all those years.
I used to be running around like a lunatic.
You know, I'm 53.
-Retired for one week and didn't like it. -[Catherine] Hmm.
-[chuckles] So I carried on. -[Catherine] Didn't last.
Surprise, surprise, you changed your mind. Retired, changed your mind.
I just couldn't give it up.
-[optimistic music playing] -[crowd clapping and cheering]
[Nick] There will never be another Frankie Dettori.
We've been very, very lucky in… in England
to have him ride there for 30-odd years.
He looked great on a horse. He sounded great.
This good-looking kid from Italy,
bags of personality.
Like a comet
flying across the rather stuffy skyline of British racing.
[Jonathon Kinchen] Frankie's an absolute legend.
Racing's huge in the UK.
I think Frankie's really taken advantage of how much fanfare you get
as a rider in the UK.
He's really taken celebrity to the next level.
No one has won that many races around the world like him.
From England to France to Ireland,
Dubai, Saudi Arabia.
The guy's won everything.
[string music playing]
[Frankie] I've achieved what I had to achieve back in Europe, so in 2023
I announced my retirement.
But then I got to about August,
and I had the angel and the devil.
And I wasn't ready to retire.
I realized I never really tried America.
That's why, a bit of a U-turn, that I decided to extend my career.
[Billy Koch] You retire, you un-retire.
We don't know if you're really…
Are you really putting your whole heart and soul into the game,
or is this just, like, a "Hey, Frankie Dettori" tour,
so everyone can clap their hands?
I mean, he's 53 years old.
There are not many jockeys that are where he currently is.
The day will come that I'm not wanted anymore.
And, uh… and it's kind of… It's not you want to retire.
It's the sport will retire me.
It could be three months, three years. Who knows?
[Catherine] If you were at home, you'd be annoying me, so…
I'm like Tom Brady now, making another comeback.
[music continues]
I'm not under any illusions.
It's super cutthroat competition.
I have to create my new business.
[Nick] If Frankie Dettori, aged 53,
wants a ride of consequence in the Kentucky Derby,
he needs the big-name trainers to have complete confidence
that he is still the right man for the job.
And it's not simply a question of being happy that he wins.
It's expectation that he's still got it.
Jockeys will be hopping off one contender onto another.
There's not much loyalty.
Trainers will be firing one, hiring another.
The owners say, "I don't want him. I'd rather have her." You know?
It's… it's tough.
Cutthroat, for sure.
[music continues]
-[Frankie] All right. -[Catherine] We're here.
[Frankie] This is where the fun begins.
[music swells, then ends]
-Are you excited? -[Catherine] I'm really excited.
[Frankie kisses] New adventure.
A bit different from living in a seven-bedroom,
10,000-square-feet house
to a one-bedroom single flat.
-I'm looking forward to it. -[Catherine] Really excited.
-Nice and cozy together. -[Catherine] Yeah.
When nobody's there, and it's just you and I, it's madness.
[Frankie] The weather's beautiful.
Kind of suits me, right?
[Catherine] Well… Oh, it's perfectly formed.
Perfectly formed! This is our new home.
-And a bath, which is nice, actually. -Yes. Good.
'Cause Americans prefer showers than baths. I'm quite English like that.
From a seven-bedroom mansion to one-bedroom apartment.
[energetic music playing]
[horse snorts]
[horse nickers, snorts]
-[Frankie] Big Ron. -How are you, Frankie?
-I'm good. You? -Good.
Ron Anderson is one of the best jockeys agent in America
for the last 40-plus years.
It's an honor for me you'd take me on. I'm looking forward to the challenge.
Well, I'm honored to be, uh, representing you.
You know, you're an icon in the business, but coming into the States,
we're going to have to develop some new relationships
with big people.
Then from there, we'll look for some Derby horses.
But if we're coming to Breeders' Cup, looking forward to a huge couple of days.
It'll be spectacular.
[energetic percussive music playing]
[Frankie] Breeders' Cup is all the best horses get together
in a variety of races,
every race being a million dollar plus.
Obviously, the prize money is huge,
and there's a chance for the world to see who is really the best.
The Breeders' Cup is super, super important
because it will springboard me
to the American public to get noticed
and perhaps get to a good Derby mount for the Kentucky Derby next year.
[Nick] The Breeders' Cup Juvenile Colts race
is the meaningful start of the road to the next season's Kentucky Derby.
That's the instant question.
As soon as the horse passes the post, is that a Derby horse for next year?
Listen, I, uh, came here with no illusion.
You know, we have to start from scratch again,
to start from… from the beginning,
and… [smack lips]… we take it from there.
Yes.
[music continues]
[music stops]
[birdsong]
[soft music playing]
[announcer] Just 30 minutes east of the glitz and glamour of Hollywood
lies a historic venue.
The Breeders' Cup World Championships
brings together the best of the best
from across the globe to compete on one stage.
[violin music playing]
[bell rings]
[Jonathon] The Breeders' Cup is the world championships of horse racing.
Some are gonna run short on grass, long on grass,
short on dirt, long on dirt.
All different types.
You're priming your horse to try to get there, get here to the Breeders' Cup,
and have your horse run the best race of their life
on that particular day.
-[music fades] -[audience cheers faintly]
[Frankie] Breeders' Cup Santa Anita, here we go.
I have a plan in my head of how things are gonna work out.
All you're thinking about now is try to win and try to be glorious.
In most of the races, it's 12 runners.
I've got a plan, but they also have a plan,
so once those gates open,
you have no friends.
If you miss the beat, game over.
[rock and roll music playing]
[indistinct chatter]
-[man] We are ready. -[woman] We were born ready!
[Michael] When we roll into the racetrack,
uh, it… it's a mixed bag.
I think, you know, some people look at us like we've completely lost our minds.
All right. Let's do it.
What are we even doing here?
Others are kinda like, "Yeah, the Iavarones are in the house."
Hey! How you doing, brother? What's going on?
All the people who don't know us just look at us,
judge us and just hate us.
[Michael] Okay.
[Jules] If we feel good, we're gonna have the best time.
If I have good hair, I can take on the world.
[Michael] Champagne and hot dogs.
We found… we found a new level of insanity.
Good location. That's mine. We got that win.
-[Kevin McPeek] We gotta hustle, man. -I don't gotta hustle.
[Mike] The Breeders' Cup, you're competing against the best.
It's really like the championship of horse racing.
[indistinct chatter]
It's my lucky lollipop.
This is my ritual.
I feel like if I don't do it, I don't get the luck.
It's very unusual we are at this time, we are already in the jocks' room,
but, you know, it's a big day today.
A lot of races, and it's going to be a very long day.
I'm very particular with the way my, uh…
I don't know why. It doesn't really make any difference, but
my goggles and rubber band have to be perfect. [chuckles]
Record this, please. Do it.
He's listening to music with his sunglasses.
Hey, Risky Business. What's up?
-Is the sun in the jocks' room, right? -[laughs]
[Umberto, in Italian] Ato, what the hell are you doing?
-[laughter] -[in English] I'm listening music.
[Umberto laughs]
[man] You gotta love the Breeders' Cup, bro.
I'm chilling. I'm chilling.
I'm in my place. I'm chilling.
-Morning, Frankie. -Morning, buddy.
Good luck today.
[Christina Blacker] When Frankie walks into the jocks' room,
and he's looking around to see some of the international superstars.
The Ortiz brothers,
Flavien Prat,
Johnny Velazquez.
These are people I know he's watched, and I know he's studied.
William is just here for the weekend.
English champion jockey. A good friend of mine.
Even if we talk to each other now,
when we're out there, we hate each other.
[chuckling] I'm joking.
He wants to know their strengths, he wants to know their weaknesses.
Every rider that walks into the jocks' room is a threat.
There are only so many horses to go around,
so he does have to still come here and prove himself.
[expectant music playing]
[Nick] Race day has a rhythm to it.
The jockeys come out in their silks,
get their instructions from their trainer and the owner,
they get on the horse, the race is run.
-[bell rings] -[audience cheers]
[announcer] Here's the wire. Big Evs!
He did it today!
[Nick] You see these jockeys, different silks, each time, every time.
Frankie stole my robe. Watch.
I was looking for it. Look who have it. Every time. Every single time.
[Nick] They're putting themselves, flesh and blood,
in extreme danger every time they go out to ride those horses at 40 miles an hour.
-[bell rings] -[announcer] The Juvenile Fillies.
She's a champ.
[music continues]
Watch this. Film this. Come here.
New gloves.
[Umberto] Gardener gloves, the best in the world for good grip.
[Umberto chuckles]
[Frankie] Two dollars each.
[Nick] You go down by the rails and see how tight those horses race.
There is no quarter given in these top-class races.
These jockeys, they ride tight, they ride competitive.
-[announcer] All in line. They're off! -[bell rings]
Down to these two!
Justified has won it!
You take them for granted,
these riders, each and every day.
[crowd exclaiming]
[indistinct chatter]
[Umberto] As a jockey, my goal is to be one of the best in the world.
And I think the greatest of all time is Frankie Dettori.
William. [speaking Italian] [chuckles]
[Umberto] He was my idol when I was a kid, and he's still my idol right now.
When I stay next to Frankie,
I feel like that kid in Italy,
watching and dreaming to be like him one day.
[man shouts indistinctly]
All right. Three minutes.
[tense music playing]
[horse neighs]
[announcer 2] Up next, it's the Maker's Mark Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Turf.
A mile and a quarter with two million dollars on the line.
[music fades]
Getting a good look at Inspiral now,
Frankie Dettori aboard.
[Frankie] Before the race,
the adrenaline, the emotion, the physicality
is almost impossible to be put into words.
Your brain is like a washing machine by the time you finish.
It's like, uh, a personal battle that you have, you know?
[announcer 3] We're all in line.
[indistinct shouting and chatter]
-[horse snorts] -[bell rings]
We're off in the Filly and Mare Turf.
[Frankie] If you're on a track like Santa Anita, it's a nail-biting situation.
Because traffic.
[audience exclaiming]
[announcer 2] Inspiral, in between horses, about seven lengths off the lead.
[Frankie] My number one thing to do is get on the fence
to save as much ground as you can.
[Umberto] He's going up the fence.
I think he's in a good position.
[hooves clopping]
[announcer 2] Inspiral saving every inch of ground under Frankie Dettori,
seven lengths off the lead.
[Umberto] Frankie needs to be out of there.
[announcer, over PA] …to a 46.9 half mile.
The pace is solid for the distance.
Inspiral still on the inside,
and she's still six and a half lengths behind.
[intense music swells]
[Frankie] Your eyes are concentrated
on the six, seven horses in front of you.
You think, "My God, how am I going to get through this?"
[crowd exclaiming]
[announcer 2] She's on top by a length and a half.
State Occasion continues to pursue from second.
[indistinct announcement through PA]
[Frankie] Sometimes you have to wait on other people's mistakes.
Because it's the big day.
It's the Breeders' Cup.
Everybody's just trying a bit too hard.
Someone will make a mistake.
[announcer 2] Warm Heart waiting for a place to go.
Meanwhile, nothing yet from Inspiral.
She's going to weave to the outside.
She still has six lengths to gain.
An Italian to catch.
Warm Heart ranges up alongside of her
and goes on by.
-Here comes Inspiral and Moira. -[crowd exclaims]
Here comes Inspiral after Warm Heart.
Inspiral!
And Frankie Dettori timed that right.
[Umberto] Wow!
-Wow! Fantastic. Fantastic. -[Antonio chuckles]
[announcer 3] Inspiral with an inspiring performance.
Had to find a way out… [voice fades]
[Antonio] Wow, Frankie knows that.
That's why he's Frankie. [chuckles]
[Umberto] Go on, baby. [clapping]
-You know, he knows where to go. -[man speaks Spanish]
[inspiring music playing]
[Frankie] You know, even at my age of 53,
that I won 4,000 races,
winning a race…
You dream about it,
but actually, when it does happen,
it's so surreal.
The danger, the speed, the smell,
the… the crowd shouting.
And then when you cross that line, it's just
an amazing kind of superpower. [laughs]
Do you think he's going to do the flying dismount?
[announcer 3] There we are, treated to a flying dismount from Frankie Dettori.
[Umberto chuckling]
[indistinct chatter]
Pssh! Got it. We got one, anyway.
[man] That's why!
[indistinct greetings]
[chuckles]
[string music playing]
[Michael] I'm on the search for the Derby horse.
I'll be that guy with the binoculars and the… and the notepad.
I'll be scouting, and hopefully I can find a Derby horse.
I can look at the horses for the future
by who runs in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile.
That race has produced multiple horses
that have gone on to win the Kentucky Derby.
-What's up, brother? -Killing it.
-How are you? -Good. What's happening, man?
By the way, this guy won the Derby this year. Ramiro.
[Ramiro] This is my North Star. I'm trying to get to this level.
[Michael] No, man. You already did it. You already did it.
Last year, we were ten days out from the Kentucky Derby,
and Ramiro sends me a text.
[text notification beeps]
And he says, "We're really high on Mage."
[text notifications beep]
And he offers me
an opportunity to buy in at a seven-million-dollar valuation.
And I thought that was rich.
I didn't think he was the best in his crop, but he showed up on Derby Day,
and he pulled it off.
[announcer 4] Mage to win the Kentucky Derby!
[Michael] I didn't do it, and I kicked myself in the you-know-what.
Now the horse is worth 15 million.
[announcer 5] The nine is Fierceness, Mike Repole, Todd Pletcher.
He may be up close to the lead at 14-1.
[Mike] Fierceness had one bad day. That race in the Champagne.
He's been training great. So, real exciting.
[interviewer] You're surely gonna go for Fierceness, Gioia?
-Fierceness, right? -Uh, yeah.
[interviewer] I thought so. Figures.
[Mike] The part that people don't understand
is the stress and the anxiety
of having a horse like this.
There's so many variables that have to go perfect.
We have high hopes, and we know what he's capable of doing.
Listen, if he… he wins, we're not going to be surprised.
And if he comes in last, I guess we can't be surprised either.
[intriguing music playing]
[twangy music playing]
[announcer] These two-year-olds are set for a start.
This should be a good one.
[indistinct announcement over PA]
Just about ready to go here.
They're all in line.
[music turns resolute]
-Ready for the start. -[bell rings]
They're off in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile.
And General Partner had the best start
and goes out to the front.
Then it's Fierceness running in second. Wine Me Up is third
as they make their way into that turn.
-[indistinct PA announcement] -Right there, baby! Right there!
Right there, baby!
[announcer] General Partner makes the pace,
and it's prompted by Fierceness on the outside.
Fierceness, three-quarters of a length behind running in second.
-[indistinct announcement over PA] -Come on!
[announcer] Timberlake is getting going now.
A three-wide run, but on the charge,
within four lengths of the front, Prince of Monaco.
Let's go, Johnny!
[crowd exclaims]
[announcer] Around the far turn they go.
Fierceness grabs the lead.
[crowd cheering]
And they're into the stretch.
Fierceness has opened up here to a two-length lead.
But it is going to be
Fierceness and John Velazquez.
Oh, they're running away!
Fierceness,
a powerhouse win!
[all screaming and cheering]
What a performance, Mike Repole, by Fierceness.
[Mike] Let's go! Let's go!
-Daddy! Daddy! Daddy! -[Mike screams]
[interviewer 2] This is special. Why is that?
[Mike] The horse worked so good the entire year.
Never raced on a dry track. This is the first time. You saw.
And Johnny's back, so it's fun to win this with Johnny.
-[interviewer] Congratulations. -Thank you.
[interviewer] Part two of the Repole Files.
-[crowd cheering] -[Mike] Let's go!
[man 2] Yeah!
[Mike] Todd and I have won so many races together.
We're now in our fifties,
not our thirties.
And having Fierceness as the champion,
it just is very special.
First time on dirt, remember. Dry dirt, remember.
He likes dirt. That's what he does.
[indistinct chatter]
[Mike] It's great to win the Juvenile. And I'd love to win the Kentucky Derby.
But I've been in a situation
where I had the Derby favorite in 2011,
and I scratched Uncle Mo.
Last year, with Forte,
I had the Derby favorite, and he didn't even make the starting gate.
So part of this for me is just getting him
at post time, at the gate.
[intriguing music playing]
[whooshing]
[music fades]
-[Michael] You got the badges? -[Jules] I got them.
[Michael] They know… they know I want a horse.
So it makes the negotiation that much tougher
because they know I want this.
[Jules] Have faith. If it's meant to be, it'll be, you know?
[Michael] Yeah. Sometimes when it's not meant to be, it'll be.
[they laugh]
-So we'll see what happens. -[Jules] Okay.
[Michael] What's up, Ramiro?
-[Ramiro] Big Mike. -[Michael] What's up, brother?
-Long time no see. -Good to see you.
[Jules] Hi!
-Jules, how's it going? -Good.
-Long time. -I know, brother. Where does the time go?
Like that. Four months.
I'm running out of patches of four months.
That's my problem. I'm getting up there now.
Four months matters for me now.
Ramiro had told me he had bought what he thought was a good one at auction.
This horse is Victory Avenue.
Big, strapping horse.
[indistinct announcement over PA]
[Michael] He felt that this horse could be something special.
[bell rings]
He runs.
[announcer] Clean beginning for Victory Avenue,
reaching out for some forward position.
[Michael] And he gets beat. He runs second.
[announcer] Final sixteenth of a mile. Speakeasy!
[Michael] But he showed tremendous early speed,
and I said, "Whoa."
Like, this… "Okay. Now we're talking here."
Last year,
you gave me the good opportunity and the good fortune
to share in the ownership of Mage.
I felt seven million, at the time,
was rich on the valuation.
I was wrong. You were right.
As horses start to gain qualifying points,
and as they get closer to the race, the values of these horses go up.
There he is.
-[Jules] Hi, baby. -[Michael] Victory Avenue.
[Ramiro] There he is.
[Jules clicks tongue] Hi, baby. Oh, so handsome.
-[Ramiro] Come here, Papa. -He looks great.
That's a stout three-year-old right there.
To see them go up 50%, that would probably be on the minimum.
And if you get a super special horse,
you know, then you can look at, you know, 200, 300%.
I know seven million for Mage was a lot of money,
but it came back and… and was well worth it.
[Michael] It… would've been cheap.
-This horse is in the same region. -We're in the ballpark with this horse.
[Michael] Yeah, and he might be more talented.
[Ramiro] With the Derby points, the way they're set up,
this Florida Derby race, he runs one, two…
-[Michael] Yeah. -…he's in there.
[Michael] Fifty points for second?
-[Ramiro] Fifty points for second. -Yeah. That gets him in.
It's really all about, in my mind,
I'm gonna spend seven figures plus, plus, plus.
What are the odds of winning again, you know, for you guys?
And at the end of the day,
it's not gonna be the last seven-figure deal I'm gonna make in my life
that either is the best deal I've ever made or the worst deal I've ever made.
So I'm gonna… I'm gonna say that Jules and I, we're in.
And… I think I'm just gonna do it.
I'm buying this horse for the Derby. I don't wanna lose this opportunity again.
I already blew it once.
-Let's see if we can do it. -[Michael] Did it last year.
We did it last year.
-See if we can run it back-to-back. -[Jules] Let's do it.
[horse snorts]
-Yup. He says yes. -He's saying yes.
There's no question about it. He's saying yes.
[Ramiro] Right on cue.
-[Michael] Let's… let's roll. -Let's roll, man.
-[Jules] Whoo! -Let's do it.
That's exciting.
Yeah. Congratulations, Jules.
-Look how happy the horse is. -[Ramiro laughs]
You want in on this? Hold on.
[Jules] Yes.
[Ramiro] Last carrot.
[Jules] Last one, buddy.
You might have to be feeding me carrots. That's all I'll afford to be able to eat.
Gold-flaked carrots for you, Mike.
Put seven figures down.
That's always nerve-racking.
[intriguing music playing]
The other side of it is, we're genuinely excited
to be a part of the Triple Crown trail now.
The goal is to get back to the Derby with Jules.
And I feel like… with a horse that not only has the talent now,
but has a future.
If he moves forward like we think he can,
we have a realistic shot at this thing.
[resolute music playing]
[Jonathon] Right after the Breeders' Cup, the road to the Kentucky Derby starts.
-[bell rings] -[crowd cheers]
Move up! Yes! Take it!
[announcer] The real deal.
[Mike] The pressure's mounting.
[announcer 2] I think we just saw our Kentucky Derby favorite.
Make sure you get my outfit. Then make sure you get your outfit.
Yes.
[John] There's probably not other farms that have the quality of mares.
They might have one.
[Jonathon] Getting to these Triple Crown races is nearly impossible.
[John] When he turns it on, he's gone.
[Jonathon] You need lots of luck.
I just hope he doesn't have some silly trip or something.
[Jonathon] You need a great team behind you.
[Frankie] You can win for Bob Baffert?
I haven't got a Derby ride, but I'm sure I will get one.
[Jonathon] You have to have the right horse.
[Michael] Let's toast to Victory Avenue.
[announcer 3] For the 150th time, it's the Kentucky Derby.
The gladiator goes into the Colosseum.
-I can beat you. -Really? Mine is favorite.
I can beat you.
It's nerve-racking, but we're here.
So what do we think is the issue?
99.99% will not win the Kentucky Derby.
[crowd exclaims]
Come on, Brian!
Let's go!
He got it! Yes!
[announcer 4] But he's still right there in an absolute thriller.
-Wow. I have goose bumps. -Wow.
[music fades]
[closing theme music playing]
[music fades]