Justin Casse has built a career as a bloodstock agent, buying, selling and advising on thoroughbreds while accepting that even the most carefully judged investment can be undone by injury, poor form or circumstances beyond his control.
The 46-year-old owns stakes in about 100 horses across six countries, as well as breeding and investing in horses himself. His work involves assessing young thoroughbreds for wealthy clients, deciding what they might be worth and weighing the risks of racing, resale and breeding.
“I can only control so much,” Casse said.
Leaving the family operation
Casse was raised in a racing family and grew up around farms, auctions and tracks in Florida, Kentucky and Saratoga Springs, New York. His father trained horses and bet on them, while his mother wagered with her family.
Yet horses were not an immediate career choice. Casse studied international affairs at Florida State University and was interested in travel and diplomacy before a family victory changed his perspective.
His older brother Mark won the prestigious Met Mile at Belmont Park with the long-shot Exciting Story. Watching the achievement prompted Casse to consider what it would feel like to accomplish something in racing himself.
After graduating, he worked for Mark at racetracks in Toronto and south Florida, caring for racehorses. The early starts soon became a drawback: the animals required attention regardless of weekends or public holidays, with mornings beginning at 4.30am.
“Horses don’t know holidays, right? Or weekends,” Casse said.
In 2004, he left the family operation and drove from Toronto to Lexington, Kentucky, to work for a horse sales company. The decision was not especially popular with his family, but it enabled him to build contacts independently.
Within a few years, he was selling horses for clients including the Steinbrenner family, owners of the New York Yankees, while also buying horses on behalf of clients and investing for himself.
The bloodstock business
Casse said his brother helped sharpen his judgement by asking him to identify horses he liked and then explain their weaknesses. He also learned through his own mistakes and successes.
At about 24, he bought a horse for $20,000 and sold it ten months later for $80,000. “I was like, ‘oh, this is easy,’” he recalled, before becoming overconfident and being quickly humbled.
He describes the business as similar to venture capital, with a small number of successful investments expected to compensate for those that fail. In his estimate, only one or two horses in every 10 may perform well enough to cover losses elsewhere, while others may merely pay for themselves.
Regular trips to Europe, which began around 2012, broadened his understanding of how horses are bred, trained and sold in different markets. Casse now spends three to four months a year there.
He said American training is generally centred on racetracks, where horses exercise during a set morning period, while European facilities can offer hills, varied routes and greater flexibility in developing a horse.
One of his most successful purchases came in 2018, when he bought War of Will at a sale in France for €250,000 on behalf of owner Gary Barber. Trained by Mark, the colt went on to win the Preakness Stakes, the second leg of the Triple Crown.
The challenge, Casse said, is to identify potential before it has been proven and then decide how much that possibility is worth.
Investments that can change overnight
The risks are not limited to a horse’s performance. Casse recalled expecting to sell one for about $700,000, only for it to kick a wall and fracture a bone in its foot days before the planned sale.
The horse required a year away from competition and eventually sold for about $80,000 two years later.
Once a purchase has been made, Casse must help find the people to prepare, care for and train it. Owners may have different expectations, from targeting a particular race to selling quickly if progress is slower than hoped.
The uncertainty can follow him across time zones. On a recent Sunday night in Ireland, he set an alarm for 2.30am to watch a client’s horse run in Oklahoma City, viewing the race on his phone before returning to bed.
Casse has also written about mental health in racing, where auctions and competition can create intense highs and lows. A promising purchase can generate strong expectations, only for an injury or disappointing run to erase them.
He said he can become more emotionally invested in clients’ horses than his own. Exercise, therapy, relaxation and time with his three hairless cats help him manage the pressures.
His responsibility does not end when a horse leaves the track. Casse said part of the price of a recent client purchase went to the Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance, which supports accredited organisations caring for retired thoroughbreds.
He also tries to follow the horses he has worked with as they move through their careers, arguing that their future care should not depend on whether they produced victories or financial returns.
“Even if they didn’t, you know, it’s our obligation to make sure that they live out the rest of their lives in a respectful manner,” he said.
After years of buying and selling thoroughbreds, Casse remains aware of how little can be guaranteed in the bloodstock business.
“It’s definitely not boring,” he said. “I wish it was more boring sometimes.”
