Dual Hall of Fame trainer Mark Casse celebrated his 4,000th winner July 17 when It's Witchcraft prevailed in a three-way finish to win the eleventh race at Colonial Downs.
It's Witchcraft, a 3-year-old daughter of Tapit , is owned by the trainer's longtime client D.J. Stable, the connections behind the Casse-trained 2022 champion 2-year-old filly Wonder Wheel.
Casse had been sitting at 3,999 wins since last Sunday, where he had won three races on the Woodbine card. It's Witchcraft was one of three entrants the trainer had entered for Thursday in anticipation of win number 4,000. She won by a nose in a photo finish.
"That was a close one. It's unbelievable to me to be honest—4,000, that's a lot of wins and I joked that that means I lost a lot (of races), too," Casse said Thursday from Saratoga. "For someone like me, who has spent my entire life—this is all I've ever done, this is the cherry on top. I told my wife I'd retire if I hit 5,000. She doesn't believe me, so I said maybe 6,000.
"It brings back a lot of memories," Casse said about the milestone. "If you'd thrown the number 4,000 at me (when I started), I would have said that was crazy. I can remember early on in my career, my goal was to win 20 races a year."
Casse was inducted into the National Museum of Racing's Hall of Fame in 2020 and has been awarded the Sovereign Award for outstanding trainer in Canada a record 16 times. He was inducted into the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame in 2016.
"The thing the Hall of Fame says is that you were good for a long time," said the trainer who saddled his first horse in 1979. "Four thousand wins, they've been all over the place—the good, the bad, and the ugly—I'm very proud of it."
Usually always on the go and ready to move on to the next race soon after the last one crossed the wire, Casse said milestones like this cause him to slow down and reflect on his career.
"We're so busy. We win a big race and people say, 'What did you do?' And I'm already moving on to the next one," Casse said. "But this makes me sit and reflect and think about the journey. I've said it many times, without my wife (Tina), this journey will never happen. My father was strong for me and always pushed. There's a lot of people that have sacrificed a lot of things, and I appreciate it and I reflect upon that."
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Born in Indianapolis, Ind., Casse was raised in Ocala, Fla., where his late father, Norman, operated Cardinal Hill Farm and was among the founders of the Ocala Breeders' Sales Company. Mark Casse's son, Norm, is also a trainer who previously served as an assistant to his father.
Casse earned his first victory with Joe's Coming in a Keeneland claiming race on April 14, 1979. Since then, according to Equibase, horses trained by the 64-year-old Casse have earned more than $260.4 million.
The most accomplished horse trained by Casse to date has been Tepin, the Eclipse Award-winning turf female in 2015 and 2016 who was inducted into the National Museum of Racing's Hall of Fame in 2022.
Casse has trained six horses honored as Canada's Horse of the Year—Sealy Hill, Uncaptured, Lexie Lou, Catch A Glimpse, Wonder Gadot, and Fev Rover.
Additional U.S. champions conditioned by Casse have been: Classic Empire, 2016 champion 2-year-old male; World Approval, 2017 outstanding male turf horse; Shamrock Rose, 2018 champion female sprinter; and 2022 champion 2-year-old filly Wonder Wheel.
War of Will provided Casse with his first classic win when taking the Preakness Stakes (G1) in 2019. On this year's Triple Crown trail, Casse-trained Sandman won the Arkansas Derby (G1) and finished third in the Preakness.
"Every day is a goal just to go out and have our horses perform to the highest level they're capable of," said Casse.
When reflecting on his career accomplishments, Casse pointed toward Tepin's victory in the 2016 Queen Anne Stakes (G1) when traveling to England for the Royal Ascot meet as the achievement he was most proud of.
"I didn't realize what an achievement it was until many years later," Casse said. "I watch all the great horses from the U.S. go over and struggle there. She was just one tough horse. That one stands out."
Other achievements Casse mentioned he was especially proud of were Lexie Lou winning his first of three Queen's Plates—now known as the King's Plate—at Woodbine, War of Will's Preakness victory, Sir Winston winning the 2019 Belmont Stakes (G1), and Catch a Glimpse winning his first Breeders' Cup race in the 2015 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf (G1T) at Keeneland.
Of course, Casse could not do it alone. With racing divisions in Kentucky, New York, Florida, and Toronto, Casse has an intricate and dedicated team in place.
"I have, like, 10 team members that have been with me 30 plus years, so they've been along for this ride," Casse said. "I get the accolades, they do all the hard work. I just kind of steer the ship."
As Casse looks forward to the march toward 5,000 wins, there is one box left unchecked on his bucket list.
"We have one thing that still has eluded us, and we're going to try and get that accomplished in the next couple years," Casse said. "The Kentucky Derby."
As for what motivates him to keep getting up every morning:
"I don't like losing."
