Rick Pitino Kentucky Derby 2025 ties: Journalism, Sandman, Grande

Earlier this year, he became the first coach to lead six different schools to the NCAA Tournament, guiding St. John’s to a 2-seed. The other schools he’s taken to the Big Dance are Boston University, Providence, Kentucky, Louisville and Iona. He’s one of only two coaches — John Calipari is the other — to take three different programs (UK, U of L and Providence) to the Final Four. And no other coach has won national championships at multiple schools, piloting the Wildcats to the title in 1996 and the Cardinals to the top in 2013. (Though the NCAA no longer recognizes his championship at Louisville, vacating it, along with 122 other wins, because of violations.)

Along with his success on the hardwood, however, Pitino has been involved in horse racing for decades. Those connections continue to this day, as he has multiple ties to the 2025 Kentucky Derby field.

Here’s what to know about Pitino’s connections to the thoroughbred industry as a whole and this year’s Run for the Roses specifically:

Pitino was born and raised in New York. For two seasons (1983-84 and 1984-85), he was an assistant coach with the New York Knicks. He returned to become the team’s head coach for two more seasons (1987-88 and 1988-89) later that decade. It was during his time with the Knicks that Pitino got his start in the equine industry. It only grew from there.

“John Parisella in New York was my first trainer,” Pitino said in a news release posted on BloodHorse in 2007. “He sort of got me into it when I was a New York Knicks coach. Then I got into more of the breeding and competitive racing part with Seth Hancock, who owns Claiborne Farm, when I was at the University of Kentucky.”

Pitino’s first well-known racing operation was called Celtic Pride Stable, a nod to his job at the time. (He was the Boston Celtics’ head coach for 3 ½ seasons.) During that time, Celtic Pride produced a pair of Derby horses: Halory Hunter (in 1998) and A P Valentine (in 2001). Halory Hunter placed fourth in the Run for the Roses, in what ultimately was his final race; he suffered a foot injury prior to that year’s Preakness and retired to stud. A P Valentine finished seventh in the Derby and then took runner-up honors in the Preakness and Belmont stakes.

Celtic Pride later was renamed Ol’ Memorial Stable, which Pitino operated with three partners: Rick Avare, Chris Sullivan (a UK grad and a founder of the Outback Steakhouse chain) and one of his former players at UK — All-American forward Jamal Mashburn. Ol’ Memorial’s most notable victory as sole owner came in 2003, as Della Francesca captured the Belmont Breeders’ Cup Handicap, a Grade 2 event. 

Pitino returned as a Derby owner in 2013, owning a share of Goldencents via his RAP Racing brand. Goldencents finished 17th in the 19-horse field in the Run for the Roses. But Goldencents rebounded after that, winning the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile in consecutive years (2013 and 2014) — the first horse to place first in back-to-back years in the race, and the only one to do so until Cody’s Wish matched the feat in 2022 and 2023.

Pitino remains active as an owner in the sport.

RAP Racing has started two races in 2025, both with the same horse: Aggelos the Great finished second in an allowance optional claiming race Jan. 16 at Aqueduct Racetrack, then won an allowance optional claiming race Feb. 14, also at Aqueduct.

Mike Repole owns Repole Stable. This year, Repole has one Derby entrant: Grande.

Repole also is one of St. John’s biggest (and most prominent) boosters. Earlier this year, Front Office Sports reported “Repole announced he would match up to $1 million in NIL donations to the Flat Top Fund, one of the St. John’s collectives. By the middle of March, more than $657,000 had been raised,” and all the donors were new.

Prior to last year’s Derby, Repole praised Pitino.

“I wanted him to coach St. John’s 10, 15 years ago,” Repole said at the time. “At 71 years old, he motivates the (expletive) out of me. I’m 55, and he has energy and fire. I feel sometimes I’m coaching him. I’m like, ‘Rick, calm down. You won by eight (points).’

“May we all have that fire at 21, 31, 41, 51, 61 and 71. He’s just amazing.”

Kentucky Derby’s Fierceness owner Mike Repole on Rick Pitino

Kentucky Derby’s Fierceness owner Mike Repole on Rick Pitino

Robert LaPenta is a co-owner of Derby starter (and one of this year’s favorites), Journalism.

His friendship with Pitino goes back to 1995. According to BloodHorse, “LaPenta organized a business luncheon and brought in Pitino as a guest speaker. Quickly, they became friends and within two years the interest they shared in horse racing led to LaPenta digging into his wallet and joining Pitino’s Ol Memorial Stable.”

That relationship eventually led to LaPenta helping Pitino land the Iona job in 2020. LaPenta is one of the school’s most well-known alumni, with Iona’s business school bearing his name.

“Bob was a great (horse racing) partner and I became good friends with him and his son (Robert Jr.),” Pitino told BloodHorse. “His first wife is still best friends with my wife (Joanne). They must talk three times a day on the phone.”

Pitino was proud when LaPenta struck out on his own, too.

“Bob developed a real passion for owning horses,” Pitino said. “My stable was only six or seven horses so he called me and asked if he could go out on his own.

“I told him ‘Sure,’ and then laughed and told him to be careful because there’s deep waters out there.”

Vincent Viola is one of four owners with a stake in 2025 Derby contender Sandman. Also the owner of the NHL’s Florida Panthers, Viola considers Pitino a close friend. So much so, in fact, Pitino went to the Churchill Downs Winner’s Circle in 2017 after Always Dreaming (a thoroughbred Viola’s St. Elias Stable had a stake in) won the Derby.

 “I wanted to see (them win) more than anything,” Pitino said. 

Reach Kentucky men’s basketball and football reporter Ryan Black at [email protected] and follow him on X at @RyanABlack.