Mike Repole’s Mindframe a big threat in Belmont Stakes

SARATOGA SPRINGS — Mike Repole got where he is by taking chances with his big ideas.

The billionaire entrepreneur and St. John’s basketball benefactor is the owner of two of the 10 horses who will compete in Saturday’s 156th running of the Belmont Stakes, the first to be held at Saratoga Race Course.

One of those, the No. 10 horse, Mindframe, is the second favorite at 7/2, ahead of Kentucky Derby winner Mystik Dan (5/1) and Preakness champ Seize the Grey (8/1) on the morning-line oddsboard.

Clearly the racing world is buying what Repole and trainer Todd Pletcher are selling with Mindframe.

The colt will be competing for only the third time, but the first two were overwhelming victories. He won by 13 ¹/₂ lengths in his debut March 30 at Gulfstream Park and then cruised by 7 ¹/₂ lengths in an undercard race on Derby Day at Churchill Downs.

“It’s kind of aggressive to run a horse in a Grade 1 Belmont Stakes Triple Crown race off of two starts, but I’ve never had a horse come out and win by over 20 lengths in his first two starts,” Repole told The Post inside his owner’s box in the front row of the Saratoga clubhouse. “He was training so well the last five weeks, and I almost felt if we didn’t give him a shot we’d be making a mistake. I think the last thing that Vinny Viola, who owns the horse with me, and Todd Pletcher and I wanted to do was leave the Belmont winner in the barn.”

Repole, who won the 2022 Belmont Stakes with Mo Donegal, said he and Pletcher were happy to draw the outside post, believing it would be beneficial to keep such an inexperienced horse out of early traffic.

They’re hoping for a clean trip and a clear path to the finish line.

“I can see him on the lead or I can see him third or fourth off the pace,” said Repole, whose other entrant is 20/1 long shot Protective. “But getting off to a good start and then getting most of the field behind him — I think seven out of [other nine] — gives him a big advantage.”

By winning by such large margins against lower-level competition, Repole admits, “We don’t know how good he is. If he wins by five, we’re not going to be surprised, and if he’s fifth by five, I guess you can’t be surprised either, but it’s an opportunity for him to show how good he is.”

Repole’s story is already well-known.

Forbes lists the 55-year-old’s net worth at $1.6 billion, fueled in part by selling soft-drink companies Glaceau (maker of Vitaminwater) and BodyArmor to Coca-Cola.

Last year, he purchased a majority stake in the footwear and apparel company Nobull, and he wore a pair of blue Nobull sneakers as he checked in on Mindframe and Protective early Friday morning in the dry and dusty areas outside Pletcher’s barn.

“I’m always going to be Mike from Queens,” he said. “I was born in Woodside, Queens. I grew up in Middle Village, Queens. I got married and moved to Bayside. My dad [Benoit] was a waiter, my mom [Annie] was a seamstress. My brother [Gerard], who I shared a room with for the first 28 years of my life, was a New York City cop … so I’m New York through and through.”

Repole says after he sold Glaceau, he told Gerard it was time to give up his NYPD job in the 113th Precinct in South Jamaica.

“I got that phone call … I went right down to the pension section and said, ‘See ya later, take care,’ ” said Gerard, who is one of an entourage of about 75 people who are joining Repole for the Saratoga mini-meet. Others include dad Benoit, wife Maria, daughter Gioia and lifelong friends John Camus and Damien Sausa. St. John’s coach Rick Pitino is here, as well, to lend his support.

“Growing up you knew he was going to do something big. It’s not a shock, let’s put it that way,” Gerard said. “At this point we’re spoiled, though. It’s just like an every-day [occurrence]. We know we’re going to have a great time — Belmont, Derby, Super Bowls. It’s great.”