Brought a lot of horses that have good conditions and feel like we’ve kind of got a handle on what horses need to be here and what horses need to be at the Fair Grounds, which has a lot to do with it. “We obviously had a tremendous meet last year,” Casse said. 18 at Churchill Downs.Ĭasse said next-race plans are pending for Hot and Sultry, adding she probably won’t return to the work tab until after Christmas.

Hot and Sultry, won Oaklawn’s six-furlong $150,000 American Beauty Stakes in January and closed 2023 with a blowout victory in the one-mile $300,000 G3-Chilukki Stakes Nov. Casse trains Effortlesslyelgant for Alex and JoAnn Lieblong of Conway, Ark., who also own Hot and Sultry and Easy Action.Ĭasse said he’s pointing Easy Action to the $150,000 King Cotton Stakes for older sprinters Jan. But we do have a lot of young horses that we’re still trying to figure out where they fit in the program here.”Ĭasse’s first starter of the meeting, Effortlesslyelgant, was eighth in Saturday’s $150,000 Mistletoe Stakes. At the end of Churchill, we did claim some older horses with some conditions that will be in the claiming races. “It’s a fairly large barn at this point, so we have a mixture of horses. “There’s a big difference and a lot of that has to do with Pat (Oaklawn racing secretary Pat Pope), and Oaklawn has kind of welcomed us here and wants us here,” Casse said. Casse returns to Oaklawn with around 35 horses – roughly 15 more thanĢ022-2023 – and has some 18 more at Fair Grounds. Trainer Norm Casse has an expanded presence in his third season at Oaklawn.Ĭasse had a 31-percent strike rate (18 of 59) at the last two Oaklawn meetings, with a staggering 68 percent of his runners finishing in the top three.

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