It was the type of August morning on the Saratoga Race Course backstretch you would like to bottle. Cool temperatures, blue skies dotted with puffy clouds, the rhythmic sound of hooves making contact with the main track. The day was about to get even better for Sam Bussanich, a full-time employee for trainer Mark Casse since 2024, after working for him part-time several years earlier.
Casse, a Hall of Famer in Canada and the United States, strolled over to where Bussanich was being interviewed, and without being lobbed a question, offered up: "With whatever the situation is, I will ask Sam, 'What do we do here?' She'll give me all the options. She's impressive. And she's so loyal to me."
The 29-year-old Bussanich's answers have been edited for clarity and length.
BloodHorse: What is your exact role in the Casse barn?
Sam Bussanich: Great question. No one really knows. Here are some things I do, and then we can decide what my role is from there. I'll do the sales with Mark, and make shortlists for him. I come out here in the morning, but I'm not really as hands-on as I used to be. I sometimes ride the pony, but right now I'm a little hurt, so I don't ride the pony. I help out with billing. I do client communications. Bunch of random tidbits, here and there. I help Mark with the matings (most recently for Charlotte Weber's mares). It's kind of a little mix of everything.
BH: Like a jack of all trades?
SB: Yeah, a little bit like that.
BH: What was your first introduction to horse racing?
SB: My grandpa brought me to Calder when I was 7- or 8-years-old. I'm not from a horse background at all. I grew up in northern (New) Jersey. Ever since I went to the track when I was little, all I wanted to do was be involved in horse racing. It wasn't about riding horses. I wasn't really that into riding. It strictly was about horse racing.
BH: What is it about horse racing that drew you in?
SB: I think I'm so competitive in anything I do. I grew up playing basketball, and I love the competitiveness of horse racing as well, and the team aspect. I think that's really important. The best part about (playing basketball) was being a part of a team. So when that was over, I was able to be part of a team here. We all have a mutual love of the game, which is quite nice.
BH: What were your early jobs in the industry?
SB: My very first job in Lexington when I moved there to go to the University of Kentucky was with James Keogh (Grovendale Sales), prepping broodmares. That was a very good first job in the industry. Shortly after that, 2015, when the Breeders' Cup was at Keeneland, I fell in love with a horse named Tepin, and I was like, 'Whoever trains that horse, I want to work for.' In hindsight, I knew so very little about racing. I started hotwalking for Mark in 2017.
BH: What about Tepin made you a fan?
SB: I loved the fact she was so well-loved. I don't know what it was about her. (People came) to the barn, and everyone was petting her, giving her love, and it was just such a welcoming barn. She was so magnificent. I just fell in love with her and her journey. She won the Queen Anne Stakes at Royal Ascot (becoming the first and only North American-based runner to win that group 1). She accomplished so many great things.
BH: How did you develop your shortlisting skills at the sales?
SB: Mark, of course, helped, but before that I was (a student) in the (Godolphin) Flying Start program. You look at so many horses from all over the world while with Flying Start. You really have to focus there and tune in because you could learn so much. Every horse is so different. What the yearlings look like in Australia is so different from here.
After Flying Start, I worked for Brad Weisbord and Liz Crow (ELiTE Sales), and Liz is obviously a very good bloodstock agent; I learned a lot from them. Katelyn Jackson, who works with them as well, taught me a lot.
BH: Putting you on the spot here, what's it like working for Mark?
SB: Super easygoing, very welcoming, very passionate about what he does. He's so easygoing while there is so much on the line.…This can be a very stressful job and there's so much that's out of your control, but he's not stressed, and that makes working in the barn enjoyable. He's a very good leader and it trickles down from there.
It's Team Casse because it's not just Mark. It's his wife, Tina, as well. She's a very big part of the operation. I talk every single day to (our assistant trainers in different locations). We have team dinners and we do that often. We're all so close, which is very special because it's not always like that. Obviously, there's tons of different personalities in the barn. But we're just very lucky that we all mesh together and are very good pals, which is very nice.
BH: Who is currently your favorite horse in the barn?
SB: Nitrogen. I think it's quite amazing that last year she was winning the Edgewood and the Appalachian (turf races), and one year later she's (finishing second) in the Whitney (against males on dirt). She's such an insanely smart filly, too. When she trains, she knows when to put in her max effort and when not to, when to conserve herself, and she's just a dream to be around. She's all class.
BH: With all the knowledge you have accumulated over the years, what would you like to be doing in five years?
SB: Jokingly, I say that when Mark retires, I'm going to retire because I can't imagine working for anyone else. Like he said, I am so loyal to him. That's because he's given me so many opportunities. Even when I was younger, like when I was 21, I got to go everywhere with (2019 Preakness Stakes winner) War of Will and be a part of that journey, which was so special. For a girl that wasn't born in the industry and was so new to it, traveling around with a classic winner was like a dream come true.
