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Classic Empire: Meet the Horse, Jockey, Trainer & Owner

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Trainer: Mark Casse

Bio: Casse originally hails from Indianapolis, Indiana but has a large Canadian footprint. According to the Kentucky Derby, he has won the Sovereign Award, Canada's award for the top trainer, six times. He is the founder of Casse Racing where he trains Classic Empire. He has amassed over 2,000 wins over his career. Casse has endured plenty of setbacks with Classic Empire including injuries and his refusal to train at times. Casse spoke with the USA Today about entering the Arkansas Derby needing a win from Classic Empire. “My thought was, if he didn’t run well enough, he didn’t deserve to be in the Kentucky Derby,” Casse told the USA Today. “I was OK with that. But I was a little worried because he got in some trouble and as they’re coming down the lane, I’m thinking, ‘If he doesn’t get in the Kentucky Derby because of a bad trip that would be disheartening.’ We were lucky it went well.” His wife, Tina, was a registered nurse when they met. She founded Casse Racing with Mark in 2002. Their headquarters are in Ocala, Florida but work all over the United States and Canada. Tina started out managing the business operations of the company but has now expanded to own several horses. (Getty)

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Classic Empire enters the Kentucky Derby as one of the favorites. Learn more about the horse, jockey Julien Leparoux, trainer Mark Casse and owner John Oxley.