Churchill Downs Inc. is surging after billionaire Mike Repole said late Thursday that he had purchased one million shares of the horse racing and gaming company over the past four days.
The stock rose as much as 7.2% as of 1:55 p.m. in New York on Friday, its largest intraday jump since mid-June. The purchase by Repole, an outspoken figure who has long called for horse-racing industry reform to revive the sport, represents about 1.4% of the company’s roughly 70 million outstanding shares, according to Bloomberg data, making him one of the top holders of the stock.
“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,” Repole wrote in a post on X. He added that he looks forward to working with Chief Executive Officer Bill Carstanjen, the company’s board of directors and management team.
The announcement comes as shares of the Louisville, Kentucky-based company, which owns the Kentucky Derby and the race track that hosts it, are down 29% year-to-date, putting them on track or their worst annual decline since 1999. Concerns around increased gaming competition in Virginia, a key market, are keeping investors cautious, while plans to sell some regional casinos also weighed on sentiment.
The company is also grappling with the declining popularity of horse racing, which comes as its fan base ages and younger gamblers show less enthusiasm for the sport. Excitement for this year’s Kentucky Derby in May was also tempered by a record number of horses withdrawing from the race.
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Repole has long been a vocal figure in the horse racing industry. The Vitaminwater and BodyArmor co-founder has accused the institutions that govern the sport of mismanagement and conflicts of interest, while threatening earlier this year to launch a “ national lawsuit ” with the intention of sparking change within the industry. A representative for Repole did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
“We appreciate and respect Mike Repole’s vision, passion and optimism for the future of horse racing, and we welcome his significant investment in Churchill Downs Inc.,” Churchill Downs said in an emailed statement to Bloomberg News.