McGhees' Mile
Standardbred Training Center
620 Banks Mill Rd. - Aiken, S.C., 29801 - Main (803) 502-0550 - Cell (803) 640-0211
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The only thing that comes before horses at McGhees' Mile is family. Bruce, Janis and their four children all contribute to the track.
Ashley, 22, is an excellent horse handler and assists with barn and track maintence. Bruce, 19, is adept at operating all of the track's maintence machinery. He's also an excellent handicapper. Matt, 16, also chips in with operating the track's heavy equipment. And when he's not at McGhees' Mile, you might find him at the polo field, where's he 's become quite handy with the mallet.
Administrative duties are handled by Bruce, Janis or their eldest daughter, Jessica. Learn more about all three below.
Bruce McGhee
Bruce is a University of Maine graduate and was a certified fixed-wing aviator and helicopter pilot in the U.S. Army before leaving the service in 1956 for a life in the private sector.
He landed his first job as a stockbroker soon after exiting the military. It was a decision that ultimately led to his life-long love affair with standardbred racing. When a client offered him a good deal on two show horses, Bruce jumped at the chance. Not long after that, he was driving horses once a week at a track in Gorham, Maine.
He fell in love with the details of racing, how the slight alteration of a bit in the horses mouth could improve performance. Or how the repositioning of a harness could mean the difference between a decent race and a great race. He went from driving horses once a week to three times a week, from layperson to horseman.
It was a standardbred named Big League Star that truly changed his racing life.
"When he went out of the gate, nothing could go with him," Bruce recalls fondly more than 50 years later.
After several victories, Big League Star became the talk of New England and later at tracks up and down the Eastern Seaboard.
"Once you get a horse like that, you want a whole stable full of them," Bruce says.
You could say that one horse continues to inspire the McGhees to make their standardbred facility the best in the business.
"I want other people to have the opportunity to train Big League Stars," Bruce says.
Janis McGhee
A native of Maine, Janis was introduced to an equine lifestyle by her father when she was 6-years-old. She grew up riding horses and watching races with her father.
By the age of 23, she had worked at several horse farms in Maine. But it was about that age she started managing a racing stable for the first time. For more than two decades since, she's been involved in racing in one form or another.
"It's just exciting," Janis says, "from breaking the babies, to introducing them to the track, to seeing them want to win."
Today, she and her daughter Jessica train 21 standardbred racing horses at McGhees Mile.
"I love to watch them become race horses," Janis says. "You work them everyday. You develop a strong bond."
Jessica McGhee
At 23, its easy to see Jessica shares her parents love for horses and standardbred racing. When the aspiring veterinarian isn't in class, most days you can find her taking care of stables or driving horses at McGhees' Mile.
She's grown up at the track.
"It's what I love to do," Jessica says. "Theres nothing like being behind a horse, the adventure, the rush.
"It's exciting to see these horses progress."
