Hall of Fame trainer Casse really relates to Floyd protest
The protests in the United States against police brutality hit close to home for Mark Casse.
On Saturday, pictures posted on Twitter showed a Louisville, Ky., police officer separated from his unit and being severely outnumbered in the midst of a crowd of protesters. But the officer was immediately surrounded by a group of Black men who linked arms and offered protection until the officer’s team returned for him.
Casse’s son, Joel, is a member of the Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) team in Louisville. The social media images of the lone officer resonated deeply with the Hall of Fame horse trainer.
“With a son on the SWAT team in Louisville, this hits very close to home,” Casse tweeted.
“A special thanks to those that stepped up.”
The protests were touched off when George Floyd, a 46-yearold Black man, died Thursday in Minneapolis after a white police officer held his knee on Floyd’s neck for several minutes and ignored his cries of distress.
The tweet was a telling response from Casse, who rarely takes to social media.
“You don’t see me tweet very often,” Casse said Monday. “That’s just not what I do.
“When I say something, I want it to mean something and that one was just very dear to me. When I saw it, it made me a little emotional because the first thing, you look at the face and how scared he must’ve been, and then you say, ‘That could’ve been my son.’ ”
Initially, Joel Casse wanted to follow in the footsteps of his heralded father and older brother, Norman, to the horseracing business. However, the junior Casse found it hard feeling comfortable around horses.
“He tried for a little while,” Mark Casse said. “He can go (face) people with guns and he’s fine, but have him around horses and he’s nervous.
“One evening we were sitting at the table and I said, ‘Joel, I just don’t know if training horses or the race track is your cup of tea’ and he kind of broke down and said, ‘You know, dad? It isn’t,’ and I said, ‘It’s OK.’
“I think he thought he was going to disappoint me with that but he didn’t at all. I’m very very proud of what he’s been able to achieve as a policeman.”
Mark Casse definitely casts a huge shadow in horse-racing circles.
The 59-year-old Indianapolis native has been named Canada’s top trainer an unprecedented 12 times, won all three legs of the country’s Triple Crown and is enshrined in the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame. Casse has also captured two American Triple Crown events (Preakness, Belmont), five Breeders’ Cup races and this year was named for induction into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame in Saratoga Springs, N.Y.
Casse said while he came to terms with the dangerous nature of his son’s job long ago, it doesn’t take much for a parent’s concern to return.
Casse has received many calls of support from owners he trains horses for — including John Oxley and Gary Barber — regarding his son.
“They all know Joel very well because he comes to a lot of the big races,” Casse said.
One of the few races to evade Casse’s grasp has been the Kentucky Derby.
And, should the day come when Casse captures the opening jewel of the U.S. Triple Crown, he’s hopeful Joel Casse is there to celebrate the accomplishment.
“Hopefully, one day we’re going to win it,” Mark Casse said. “And I think it would be so meaningful for him to be there for that.”