Mark Casse: The Will to Succeed

2019 Preakness-winning trainer Mark Casse

Photo by Cody Greco

Interview by Claudia L. Ruiz

Mark Casse caught the bug for racing when he was just a little boy. While his friends were watching cartoons and reading comic books, Casse was reading the racing form and studying pedigrees. His father, Norman E. Casse, was heavily involved in the sport. And, as the saying goes, “The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.” Norman raised Mark to be a top-class horseman and instilled in him a work ethic that would allow him to successfully pursue a career in the competitive world of thoroughbred racing.

For the last four decades, Casse has worked diligently to make a name for himself. It hasn’t been easy, but his efforts have certainly paid off. Today, he’s a multiple graded stakes-winning trainer, Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame inductee, he’s won the Sovereign Award for Outstanding Trainer more times than he can count on both hands, has started collecting Breeders’ Cup trophies, and on May 18, 2019, added the title of American Classic-winning trainer to his resume when War of Will galloped to victory in the 144th running of the Preakness Stakes.

Following the eventful first two legs of the 2019 Triple Crown, I caught up with Casse to talk childhood, career, War of Will, and family.

CLAUDIA RUIZ: Let’s start with a little bit of background on you; where were you born and raised?

MARK CASSE: Well, I tell everybody I was foaled, not born, in Indianapolis, Indiana, and I grew up in Ocala, Florida; my family moved there when I was five.

CR: And how were you introduced to horses and horse racing?

MC: My father was involved in racing since before I was born. He was a trainer, breeder, farm manager and owner of Cardinal Hill Farm, and eventually co-founded the Ocala Breeders’ Sales Company, or OBS, as it’s referred to today. So, horses and horse racing have always been the focus of my life.

CR: So you grew up on a farm; how old were you when you started helping out around the farm and what did you do?

MC: I was five; I did a lot of hot walking and mucking. My first job off the farm, I was the person that cleaned up the poop in the sales ring at OBS. Then when I was 12, my dad had a horse van company and I was one of the van attendants. I would leave Ocala on a Friday afternoon, arrive in Lexington Saturday morning, get on another van Saturday afternoon and arrive back in Ocala Sunday morning. I would get a whopping $200 for that, which is like $2,000 today.

CR: How old were you when you first learned to ride, and did you have your own horse or pony?

MC: I was four. And, yes, I had a pony.

CR: What was his or her name?

MC: I knew you were going to ask me that. Her name was Brownie, she was a Shetland pony that could fly and she nearly killed me on more than one occasion.

CR: Ponies are the best! They’re evil, but they teach so much.

MC: She was evil, evil. I would have friends over and we would race our ponies up the lanes between fences. Brownie and I would be in front and then suddenly she would make a U-turn and I would go flying and my friends would run me over. I have done hundreds and hundreds of interviews; you are the first to ask me these questions. I love it.

CR: I think your background with horses is so important to your overall story. Do you have any memories from working on the farm that stick out, anything that left a mark on you?

MC: My dad always believed in making me work, he said that it would make me a better person. I heard a million times, ‘If you’re going to do something, do it right.’ When I told him I wanted to be a trainer, he said two things to me, 1: You can work your ass off and the guy next to you can do nothing, but if his horse is better, he will beat you; and 2: You’ll never be rich.

CR: When did you know you wanted to become a trainer?

MC: I always knew. Well, no, I shouldn’t say that because at one point I wanted to be a jockey. I galloped horses for a long time, but never rode any races. I just couldn’t do the weight. In 1973, when I was 12, I went with my dad to the Kentucky Derby and watched Secretariat win. It was the greatest thing I had ever seen. That experience made me want to become who I am today.

CR: That’s amazing! Did you two make it to any of Secretariat’s other races?

MC: I was at Saratoga when Onion beat Secretariat in the Whitney, I bet $2 on Onion to win. Why, I’m not sure, but the interesting thing about it was that Onion was trained by a man named Allen Jerkens, one of the greatest trainers of all time, and maybe 10 or 12 years later, I got to spend a lot of time with Allen every day. His barn was near my barn and we became friends. A lot of the things I say and do today are things Allen taught me.

CR: When did you first start training and racing horses?

MC: I was 17 when I had my first runners. Back then the only place in North America you could get your trainer’s license before the age of 18 was Massachusetts, at these small fairs that my dad used to run at. I flew up to the Barrington Fair, got my license, and ran a mare named Solid Rocket that same day.

CR: What about school?

MC: I had one year left of high school then, so after my time in Massachusetts, I went back home to finish. I turned 18 a few months later, got my trainer’s license in Kentucky, and in March worked out a deal with my school so that I could leave for the last month and a half and start training. A month later, on April 14, 1979, I won my first race at Keeneland with a Kentucky-bred named Joe’s Coming. I was supposed to go to college at the end of that summer, but I never did. I’ve been training horses ever since.

CR: What has the journey been like for you as a trainer?

MC: I’ve experienced many things along the way. I used to race at these small tracks in the middle of nowhere and there were many nights I went to bed in places, thinking, ‘Dear God, just let me wake up alive in the morning.’ I went to New York for a while, trained privately for Calumet in the 80s, and then went back to Kentucky and ended up being leading trainer multiple times at Churchill Downs. That was about the same time I was starting a family and I was kind of frustrated with the Kentucky circuits because none of them worked together and you ended up having to move around a lot. I took some horses up to Toronto on the premise that I would race there for eight months and then return to Ocala for the winter when the meet ended. I did really well in Toronto and ended up moving there. In the early 90’s, I quit training and became the general manager for a place called Mockingbird Farm. Did that for about 5-6 years, started training again, moved back to Kentucky and here I am. I’ve kind of done it all.

"I was asked after winning the Preakness if I thought it was my biggest victory as a trainer. After much thought, I have to say, it’s definitely #1." - Mark Casse | Pictured: War of Will at Pimlico Race Course May 18, 2019.

Photo: Jamie Newell

CR: You just won your first American classic with War of Will in the Preakness. This horse signifies a great accomplishment in your career; can you tell me a little bit about him?

MC: War of Will arrived at my barn in the spring of 2018. My brother Justin was in France at the Arqana Breeze Up Sale for two year olds in May and bought him for Gary Barber for $298,550. He’s actually a Kentucky-bred but was sold as a yearling, shipped to Europe, and then we bought him over there and brought him back to the United States.

CR: At what point was it decided that he would run in the Kentucky Derby?

MC: We originally thought he was going to be a turf horse and ran him on the grass several times. Three weeks after his troubled trip in the 2018 Breeders’ Cup, we entered him in a race on the dirt at Churchill Downs and he won by five lengths. He was so impressive that Gary Barber and I felt he deserved a shot at the Derby.

CR: You went into the 2019 Kentucky Derby with a genuine shot at winning, but you weren’t disappointed with what transpired. Can you explain your thought process on the whole situation?

MC: I’ve wanted to win the Kentucky Derby since I was 10 years old, but I’ve been a trainer for so long that I understand that certain situations will always be out of my control. Honestly, I was just thankful that War of Will and everybody else was okay. A few days after the race, I saw a photo of the moment the incident happened and right behind the affected horses was Jose Ortiz. Two weeks prior, his wife and two young kids had spent some time with me and my wife at our training center. Realizing how close they came to losing him really put things into perspective, and it’s not the first time something like that has happened to me. I lost a big race about 7-8 years ago and I remember I was so bummed about it. I got a call from my son Norman who was driving with my other son, Joel, when a car came across the median. It missed them by a foot. I was so happy that my sons were okay and it hit me in that moment that even though I hadn’t won that race, in the grand scheme of things, I had actually won the day. That’s the way I see these situations. Sometimes you’re luckier with what doesn’t happen than what could have been.

CR: That’s an amazing way of looking at it (readers, take notes). Tell me about Preakness day; what was it like and how did it feel to win?

MC: I got to the barn at around 5:15am and quickly realized I was alone. There was a bit of a mix up and everyone thought I had said they could come in later, which wasn’t what I meant, but it was actually kind of nice because it took me back to the days where I used to do everything myself. I pulled bandages, took temperatures, groomed, spent time with War of Will, walked him, gave him a bath, and then went back to the hotel. I got back to Pimlico around 3pm and a few hours later we won the Preakness. When I was young, we didn’t have the Breeders’ Cup or the Pegasus; we had the Kentucky Derby, the Preakness, and the Belmont. Those were the most important races, and to me they still are. To think I won one of them… there’s a lot of emotion there.

CR: I’m a little curious because you’ve mentioned your dad several times throughout our conversation, but not your mom. Where and how does she fit into your story?

MC: Her name is Joan and she’s a wonderful woman. She made the biggest sacrifice a mom can make. When I was 13, she and my dad were going through a divorce and there was a big custody battle; she wanted to take me and my brother John to Indiana where her family lived. One day, I said to her, ‘Mom do you truly love me?’ and she said, ‘With all my heart.’ And I said, ‘Then you’ll let me stay with dad and the horses.’ She stopped the battle that day and let me stay with my dad. So, it’s because of her that I’m here today doing what I love.