Career rider Michael McGee, who earned his coaching title at Churchill Downs in the 1950s and 1960s, died on August 20, 2022. He was 96 years old.
Since his prolific horse trainer father (Jimmy McGee) used the professional surname “McGee”, Mike also chose to use McGee’s name, but never legally changed his given name. become Francis Michael Gray. He was born on February 9, 1926 in Miami with that name.
Michael McGee is the first cousin to famed racing secretary Tommy Trotter. His equestrian family traveled around the sport while growing up in both Miami and Louisville, Ky. From the 1920s to 1940s, McGee and his family used to spend the summer racing in Delaware, New Jersey and Chicago while racing in the fall meeting in Louisville and the winter meeting in Miami.
With a family tradition in horse racing, McGee chose horse racing as his profession after graduating from Notre Dame School in 1948. He began working as an agent for jockey Nick Shuk and shortly thereafter began work. His cherished job is to train racehorses. He carried his first winning belt at the Charlestown Raceway in W.Va. in 1950 before enlisting in the Korean War. Two years later, he was discharged from the army and began training horses in Florida, Maryland and New Jersey.
After marrying former Vogue fashion model Mary Louise Donnelly in 1953 in Miami, McGee established a racing routine in South Florida during the winter, followed by a spring meetup at Churchill Downs, a meet-and-greet in the summer at Arlington Park and back to Churchill in the fall. McGee and his wife are blessed with nine children, which makes commuting difficult for his family. So in August 1970, he relocated his family to Louisville because Kentucky had year-round racing that gave him family time.
Among his notable racing achievements, McGee was top coach at Churchill Downs in the fall of 1955 and again in the spring of 1963. Mike’s best horse, Pete’s Folly, was the candidate. Kentucky Derby candidate in 1956 and won the top 3-year-old stake races but was injured against Flamingo Stakes. On July 4, 1967, McGee-trained Dear Ethel set a world record at Miles Park after completing 4 1/2 shots at: 50 2/5. He’s got additional stake winners in Bishop’s Bond and Ramona Rode.
His portfolio of owners throughout his career includes Nelson Bunker Hunt, Kendall Oil CEO Hugh Grant, owner of Pittsburgh Steelers, Art Rooney, Sears chairman Crowdus Baker as well as clients other famous in the 1960s and 1970s.
From 1975-1989, McGee focused on the sale and breeding of horses by founding the “McGee Bloodstock Agency” and co-owning the Ionian Ranch in Ocala, Fla. for $25,000 in 1978. John Henry later won over $6 million and was Horse of the Year, twice. He also brokered the sale of the outstanding No No stake winner to musician Burt Bacharach.
McGee is buried in Quantico National Cemetery and is survived by his wife Mary Louise and nine children: Priscilla of Naples FL, Christopher of Alexandria, Va., Daniel of Falls Church, Va., Robert (Vonda) of Fla. , Patrick (Anila) of North Springfield, Va, Josephine (Steven) of Ft. Myer’s Fla., Michael (Helen) of Falls Church, Va., and Peter (Megan) of Manassas, Va.
