Most people don't know the name Mike Repole. But he's a billionaire. Repole co-founded Glaceau—most known for Vitamin Water—and he sold it to Coke for $4.1 billion in 2007. Now, he's out to dominate horse racing like he did the beverage industry.
Repole's horse is Overanalyze and at 15-1, he has a chance to do just that.
There's also a great deal of buzz surrounding the horse Goldencents. It was originally purchased for $62,000 and has won even more than Orb. However, there are two elements of Goldencents' story that make the horse one to watch.
First, it's part owned by Louisville basketball coach Rick Pitino. He just won the national championship, and a hoops/Derby double would absolutely be unprecedented. Then, there's the jockey. Kevin Krigger is an African American from the U.S. Virgin Islands. No African American jockey has won the Derby since 1902.
While on the subject of jockeys and history, Rosie Napravnik is mounted on Mylute, and she could become the first female to ever win the Kentucky Derby.
Those are the headline history-making possibilities, and if any of them win, huge money would follow.
The truth is that huge money is everywhere at the Derby: from the $8,000 per ticket new luxury area called the "Mansion," to the $500 hats and $1,000 mint julep.
(Read More: Got $1,000? Mint Juleps Can Be Costly Kentucky Derby Classic)
