Mark Casse Joins the TDN Writers’ Room Podcast Presented by Keeneland

[Wandering Eyes]

Mark Casse is among the hottest trainers in America, was recently named Chairman of the Board of the Ocala Breeders' Sales Company, and continues to help lead the fight to save racing in South Florida. So, there was plenty to talk about when the Hall of Fame trainer joined this week's TDN Writers' Room Podcast presented by Keeneland. Casse was the Gainesway Guest of the Week.

Casse will head into the weekend with 17 wins from 38 starters at Oaklawn, good for a win rate of 45%. He bolstered his Oaklawn total last week, winning the Martha Washington Stakes with Search Party (Gun Runner), the GIII Southwest Stakes with Silent Tactic (Tacitus), and the GIII Bayakoa Stakes with Eclipse Award winner Nitrogen (Medaglia d'Oro).

“I've had bigger days, honestly, but maybe not at one racetrack,” Casse said. “It wasn't last year, it was the previous year. I think we won four or five stakes in one day. So, it happens. But I mean, that was definitely a great weekend, and it's nice when a plan comes together because it seldom does.”

Sent off at 12-1, Silent Tactic was the biggest surprise among the Casse stakes winners. He was coming off a second-place finish in the Smarty Jones Stakes, where he was beaten by stablemate Strategic Risk (Noble Bird). In the Southwest, he faced off against that rival once again.

“I had a conversation with Mr. [John] Oxley [who owns both Silent Tactic and Strategic Risk] and I said, 'I think Silent Tactic is doing better than Strategic Risk,'” Casse said. “When I got to Oaklawn, I was talking with [jockey] Cristian [Torres] and he told me, 'Silent Tactic is going to be very tough to beat.' He had a lot of confidence in him. I thought his race was really good.”

Nitrogen was making her 4-year-old debut in the Bayakoa, and Casse revealed that he almost scratched her because he wasn't sure that she would be ready after having just three works. He described her fitness level at 85%. Considering that she won comfortably despite not being fully ready, what does Casse think of the race now?

“I personally thought that may have been the best race she's ever run in her life, given the circumstances,” he said. “I looked at her in the winner's circle and she didn't take a deep breath. She amazes me. She makes me look good, which is not easy to do.”

As if training hundreds of horses spread all over the country isn't enough, Casse decided to accept the offer to become the Chairman of the Board of OBS. It was a position his father, Norman, held for 28 years, and the elder Casse is regarded as the one who took OBS from a small regional sales company to one of the powerhouses in the sales industry.

“My father's history at OBS, that was a big factor,” he said. “When the OBS Board came to me and asked me if I was interested, at first I thought, I've got so many other things going on. But this is something that was my father's life. It's where I had my first job. My first job was at OBS. I cleaned the manure out of the ring. People know how much I love our business and how hard I work. That's not just for me, but for everybody. I have two young sons that are in the business and I want things to continue to thrive for their sake.”

On the Florida front, Casse didn't mince words, saying that he doesn't believe the future of racing in South Florida will involve Gulfstream Park, something he predicted will happen relatively soon.

“There's no question in my mind that in the next three to five years, we'll be out of Gulfstream,” he said. “It's impossible for [the horsemen] to stay there. And I think that they don't want us there. So what we have to do is look to the future. There are a lot of things in the works. I think there's a possibility that you could see Hialeah start back. I could see where you could see Tampa possibly having the premier meet or even a possibility that Ocala will end up with a racetrack. We'll see where it goes, but I can assure you, we're not sitting on our hands.”

The “Fastest Horse of the Week” was the Louisiana-bred sensation Touchuponastar (Star Guitar), who earned a 106 Beyer when winning the Louisiana Bred Premier Night Championships at Delta Downs for the fourth straight year. The “Fastest Horse of the Week” segment is sponsored by WinStar Farm, which stands the promising sire Heartland.

Elsewhere on the podcast, which is also sponsored by the PHBA, 1/ST TV, the KTOB and West Point Thoroughbreds, Randy Moss and Bill Finley also discussed the ongoing problems in Florida, with both agreeing that the best possible solution for racing in the state would be the revitalization of Hialeah. The two looked back at last week's major preps for the GI Kentucky Derby and the GI Kentucky Oaks and looked ahead to this week's big card at the Fair Grounds, which includes the GII Risen Star Stakes and the GII Rachel Alexandra Stakes.

Click here for the audio version of the podcast or here for the video version.

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