There she was – within the lead, vying for victory within the closing furlong of the historic Queen Anne Stakes at Royal Ascot in England. When Tepin gallantly crossed the end line in entrance, the mare had made historical past as the primary American-trained racehorse to win Royal Ascot’s signature meet-opening race. Sharing the glory was the coach who made all of it doable, the coach who by no means made a improper transfer in managing a flexible however slow-maturing racehorse till she was able to make historical past on a world stage.
That coach could be Mark E. Casse, an Indianapolis native born in 1961. From an early age, he appeared destined for a future within the sport of horse racing; his father, Norman Casse, was concerned in all facets of the game as a coach, breeder, farm supervisor, and co-founder of the Ocala Breeders’ Gross sales Co.
Years later, when Mark Casse was inducted into the Canadian Horse Racing Corridor of Fame, he would depend attending the 1973 Kentucky Derby along with his father – and watching the legendary Secretariat dominate – as a fond reminiscence and a pivotal second in his childhood.
Following in his father’s footsteps, Casse aimed for a future within the racing trade and was simply 18 years outdated when he saddled his first starter as a coach at Florida Downs on March 1, 1979. Just a little greater than six weeks later, Casse scored a victory at historic Keeneland, successful the April 14 opener with a closely raced veteran claimer named Joe’s Coming. By the top of the yr, Casse was competing in stakes races with the filly Amalie, a former claimer whom Casse remodeled into the winner of the Indian Maid Handicap at Sportsman’s Park.
Nonetheless, the primary twenty years of Casse’s coaching profession had been comparatively quiet by his future requirements. From 1979 by 1990, he averaged 31 wins a yr and gained just a few meet titles at Turfway Park and Churchill Downs through the late Nineteen Eighties. His largest victory got here with Raja’s Shark, a succesful 3-year-old who gained the Grade 3 Jamaica Handicap in 1984 at Belmont Park, and for a short time Casse even labored a personal coach for historic Calumet Farm.
Casse’s numbers slowed down significantly by the Nineteen Nineties, however that was solely as a result of he modified hats to work primarily because the supervisor of Harry T. Mangurian Jr.’s Mockingbird Farm in Florida.
When Casse resumed his function as a full-fledged coach in 1998, it didn’t take lengthy for him to strike on the highest ranges of the game.
Certainly one of Casse’s early stars was Thrilling Story, bred and owned by Mangurian. Winner of the Grade 3 Synford Stakes at Woodbine as a 2-year-old in 1999, Thrilling Story was patiently dealt with by Casse, and following a typically unsuccessful 3-year-old season, the colt flourished at age 4 and fired off back-to-back victories within the Grade 3 Vigil Handicap and the Grade 1 Metropolitan Handicap.
By making Woodbine in Canada his dwelling base, Casse virtually turned a Canadian himself within the eyes of racing followers. That’s actually comprehensible; he was the main coach at Woodbine in 2002 and adopted up with 10 extra titles from 2007 by 2016. Main stakes wins began coming in bunches – he gained his first Canadian Triple Crown race in 2007 and has added eight extra wins since then – and he obtained three straight Sovereign Awards as Canada’s excellent coach from 2006 by 2008.
It was round this time – towards the top of the 2000s – that Casse solid a brand new partnership with famed polo participant John Oxley, who had already discovered success in racing because the proprietor of 2001 Kentucky Derby winner Monarchos. With Oxley as a high-profile consumer, Casse started upgrading the standard of his inventory, and the outcomes had been eye-catching.
“I’ve been doing this for 35 years and I’ve by no means actually had the pocketbook earlier than,” Casse informed author Deirdre B. Biles in a narrative for Bloodhorse.com. “I used to at all times have to purchase low cost horses and hope for the very best. Now, after I see a horse I like on the gross sales, I’ve shot to purchase it, and those I purchase have been working good. The aim is to have a very good racing secure and attempt to compete in the very best races.”
Effectively, these targets had been rapidly achieved. Graded stakes winners like Potential, Northern Ardour, Stealcase, Uncaptured, Spring within the Air, and Dixie Strike – all owned by Oxley – helped propel Casse to career-best years in 2011 and 2012; one other budding partnership with movie producer Gary Barber resulted in Lexie Lou successful the 2014 Queen’s Plate Stakes on her option to a Sovereign Award as Canada’s Horse of the 12 months.
These proficient horses and others took Casse forwards and backwards throughout North America, competing within the Kentucky Derby, the Breeders’ Cup, and different storied occasions from coast to coast. Nevertheless it was Tepin who set Casse’s secure on the highway to worldwide acclaim, although she did so in a roundabout method.
Initially, the daughter of Bernstein confirmed expertise on filth, successful the Grade 3 Delta Downs Princess Stakes in 2013.
However earlier than lengthy, Casse accurately concluded that Tepin’s future was on grass, and following an abbreviated (and winless) marketing campaign in 2014, Casse’s endurance and perception paid off as Tepin gained 5 of her seven begins on grass in 2015, culminating with a dominant triumph in opposition to males within the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Mile.
Casse scored a Breeders’ Cup double in 2015, successful the Grade 1 Juvenile Fillies Turf with Catch a Glimpse, Canada’s 2015 Horse of the 12 months. These had been the highlights of Casse’s finest season but, however the subsequent two years had been even higher as Tepin made historical past at Royal Ascot, Catch a Glimpse continued her successful methods, and new stars like Traditional Empire and World Approval emerged as champions with career-defining wins within the 2016 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile and 2017 Breeders’ Cup Mile, respectively.
Casse’s work with Traditional Empire epitomized his capacity to coach difficult horses. As a 2-year-old, the Oxley-owned colt had bother with breaking from the beginning gate, even dropping his rider at first of the Grade 1 Hopeful Stakes at Saratoga. However after Casse outfitted the colt with blinkers and spent a variety of time with education periods, Traditional Empire overcame his difficulties and gained three Grade 1 races throughout his adorned profession.
Greater than 45 years after he saddled his first starter, it’s secure to say that Casse is having fun with the fruits of his labor. He has ranked among the many high seven North American trainers by purse earnings yearly from 2011 to 2025, he’s successful graded stakes races by the dozen for outdated and new shoppers alike, and he conditioned no less than one winner at each Breeders’ Cup from 2015 to 2018.
That Breeders’ Cup run got here to an finish in 2019 … however was offset by Casse’s success on the Triple Crown path. He tallied his first two wins in North American racing’s most storied collection with Conflict of Will within the Preakness Stakes and Sir Winston within the Belmont Stakes. Casse’s coaching job with Conflict of Will displays on his talent at figuring out a horse’s expertise. The colt started his profession on turf with some success however blossomed after being switched to filth for Kentucky Derby preps early in 2019. Casse subsequently moved the traditional winner again to turf, and in 2020 Conflict of Will established himself as a top-flight grass runner at age 4, successful the Grade 1 Maker’s Mark Mile.
These accomplishments solely added to Casse’s already established standing as one of many sport’s easiest trainers, and he was inducted into the Nationwide Museum of Racing and Corridor of Fame in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., in 2020.
John Oxley, for one, believes that Casse is the important thing motive for his secure’s resurgent success during the last decade-plus.
“There are such a lot of parts [to the success of my stable],” defined Oxley within the Nov. 12, 2016 version of BloodHorse, “however foremost is Mark Casse and his unbelievable group. He’s put collectively the best operation on the market with high assistants and personnel on all ranges. He’s the brains behind all of it. And he’s awfully good at choosing out yearlings and 2-year-olds to purchase.”
In truth, one might trade “awfully good” for “nice” and nobody would argue. Casse gained the Sovereign Award as Canada’s excellent coach yearly from 2011 to 2023 earlier than he was edged by Kevin Attard in 2024, halting the unbelievable run of dominance. Casse added one other Breeders’ Cup win in 2022 when Marvel Wheel took the NetJets Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies.
Horse racing is a sport of uncertainties, but when there’s one factor you possibly can depend on, it’s that Mark Casse will proceed to saddle winner after winner for the foreseeable future.
Be aware: This story was initially printed in 2019 and has been up to date.
Enjoyable Information
- Casse’s son, Norm Casse, labored as an assistant to his father earlier than going out on his personal in 2018.
- Casse’s brother, Justin Casse, can be concerned within the racing trade as a outstanding bloodstock agent.
- By Jan. 18, 2026, Mark Casse has gained 4,131 races from 25,212 starters in North America, together with 268 graded stakes races. His horses have earned a complete of $272.8 million, the seventh-highest complete in North American racing historical past.
- Casse has skilled 5 Eclipse Award-winning horses: Tepin, Traditional Empire, World Approval, Shamrock Rose, and Marvel Wheel. In addition they symbolize 5 of his six Breeders’ Cup winners, with Catch a Glimpse being the fifth. Nitrogen is a finalist for the Eclipse Award for 2025 champion 3-year-old filly.
- Casse has skilled six Canadian Horses of the 12 months and has gained the Sovereign Award as Canada’s excellent coach 16 instances, so it’s not shocking that he was inducted into the Canadian Horse Racing Corridor of Fame in 2016.
