Mark Casse is a busy trainer these days. With two entries in the Kentucky Oaks and one in the Derby, how does he find time to do all this? Casse is hopeful that his Kentucky Derby entry, Silent Tactic, will be his first Derby winner. After all, according to Casse he is just a “40 year old overnight sensation!”

 

Currently, Silent Tactic sits at 25-1. At post position 13, the horse owned by John C. Oxley has a 6.4% chance of winning in that spot and a 21.8% chance of being in the money according to history of the “lucky” 13 spot! Jockey Christian Torres will attempt to be a first-time winner on his bay colt. 

 

Casse’s story

But for Casse, this race is his passion. And training horses is pretty much all he knows.

 

Training horses, it’s like flying a plane. As long as everything’s going fine, you’re good. But when you hit trouble, it’s nice to have the pilot that’s been doing it for 35 years. And that’s me.

 

Mark Casse was 12 years old when he went with his dad to the Hall of Fame for Horseracing. “Some day I’ll be in here,” he told his dad. I’m sure his dad told him kindly, “Sure thing, son.” What dad who’s son shared his love for horses wouldn’t?

 

Mark spent his teen years working on his training license which he received at 17. His first winner? Solid Rocket, September 23, 1978. In the mid 1980’s Casse decided to head to Canada. “Kind of got a little burnt out on it all.” He was still training in the US at Churchill Downs and Turfway Park in Florence, Kentucky prior to the official move to Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto. His move to the Great White North paid dividends as a 12 time winner of trainer of the year. After roughly 3000 wins, he was honored as the 2016 inductee in the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame. And in 2020 he found himself in the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame, like his 12 year old self relayed to his dad those forty plus years ago.

 

2019 and Casse’s first Triple Crown Victory!

 

Casse finally grabbed his first Triple Crown win with War of Will at the 2019 Preakness. In the Derby just a few weeks prior, Mark’s horse finished officially 7th after the disqualification of Maximum Security, who had drifted into Casse’s horse in the homestretch, leading jockey Tyler Gaffalione to pull his horse back to avoid the collision. The Preakness was a crowning affair!

 

It was so important to win it. I just wanted him to get his chance to show everyone how good he is because he is a super horse. We thought we were going to win it two years ago [with Classic Empire] and we got beat at the wire so I kept trying to figure out where the wire was. 

 

A winner in Baltimore!

 

But then, that wasn’t the only Triple Crown race Casse would win. Enter the Belmont! Casse had two entries in the race. Sir Winston, who eventually won in a tight battle, and War of Will who finished 9th. There was some discussion at the end of the race that Sir Winston’s jockey, Joel Rosario, had pinched War of Will down the homestretch. The stewards at the Kentucky Derby felt the disqualification was merited for their race, while the Belmont folks felt differently. So the final stood and Casse won two of the three Triple Crown races in 2019.

 

Interestingly the horse that Sir Winston beat? Tacitus, who happens to be Silent Tactic’s stud father! You can’t make this craziness up sometimes!

 

Casse lifetime statistics as of 2026.

 

Starts 25,524

Firsts 4,178

Places 3,794

Shows 3,346

 

Total Earnings $279,027,411

 

In 2026 alone, Mark has amassed 58 wins in 367 starts. As of April 28, his winnings this year total $6,886,383. But he has never won the Kentucky Derby. He hopes to fix that with his horse, Silent Tactic.

 

Silent Tactic

(Renee Torbit/Coady Media)

Casse entered his horse in six races this season, which also happened to be the ONLY six he’s ever raced in. His results? Two wins and four places! A great start for Tactic. His first two races were at Woodbine in Canada and garnered his first win in his first race and a 2nd in his second on the all-weather surface. 

 

Casse then decided upon an interesting strategy for the colt. Let’s race him at Oaklawn in the dirt for the others. Oaklawn is considered one of the tracks closest to what a horse and jockey will face at Churchill Downs for the Derby. Tactic often starts slowly which could impact his ability Saturday. But no one questions his ability to close with speed and power. But as Mark said today to the Courier Herald, “We need the perfect storm.” If he’s at the 5/16th pole in fourth or better, Tactic can fly and have a chance. Torres needs to keep him in the middle of the pack for most of the race then let him gallop to the wire, as Mark shared with reporters.

Courtesy of https://www.americasbestracing.net/horses/silent-tactic

Other Derby Challengers

 

Silent Tactic has raced other entries in the Derby like Strategic Risk and early favorite Renegade. In fact, Silent Tactic is the only horse to have run all four of the Derby prep races this year. First, in the Smarty Jones Stakes he finished 2nd. Southwest Stakes he won. The Rebel Stakes saw him have the lead but lost to Class President, a horse injured and not available for the Derby. And he really didn’t have a chance in the Arkansas Derby against Renegade where again he finished second. But to race in all four is an impressive and “old school” feat.

 

Pace? Tactic’s got it!

 

Silent’s speed overall is not overwhelming due to poor to average starts in his six races. But in his last two starts his Equibase numbers were 99 and 101, solid numbers for a Derby favorite. But for context, Renegade’s win in Arkansas nabbed a 107 rating.

 

But you see why Mark is so keen on the horse. Six races and in the money in all? Incredible. He is improving each race. But was Silent Tactic part of the group’s “A-team”? No. I will let Mark share his feelings on the horse in this interview a few days ago. Go to the 5:32 mark to hear his story on how Tactic made the decision for Oxley, Casse and Torres. He also hits on a key idea to watch Saturday: Does this field have pace?

 

 

 

Bottom Line

 

I really like this horse, jockey, and trainer. But it just seems like too many variables to overcome. Indeed, a perfect storm could push the colt to the finish line. But I like my chances taking him to place or show. Yet, if a horse can pull off this incredible feat, it will be one trained by Mark. 

 

“Sometimes you just got to let these horses…come into their own.”