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Cynthia McKee’s Success Spans Decades
Cynthia McKee’s Success Spans Decades
By Bill Cauley
Cynthia McKee has been around horses all her life.
As a youngster, she showed ponies at 4H functions, but McKee knew she could not make a career out of it. Her father, the late Charles O’Bannon, was the racing secretary at Charles Town Races, so McKee had a good knowledge early on of horses and the horse racing industry.
“I pretty-much grew up at the race track,” McKee said. “I spent a lot of time there.”
At 20, McKee married the love of her life, the late John McKee, who died last year. For 47 years, she and her late husband devoted their life to owning and training thoroughbred horses, producing a slew of winners.
Lately, one of her horses, Direct the Cat, was a winner at the 2023 West Virginia Breeders’ Cup Classics at Hollywood Casino at Charles Town Races last fall. The filly won the Triple Crown Nutrition race, the third race on last year’s Classics card. This year’s Classic is scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 12.
McKee continues to carry on the tradition of her late father and husband, training some 80 horses on her 170-acre farm in Middleway, about six miles outside of Charles Town. She’s also president of the West Virginia Thoroughbred Breeders’ Association.
“My father was a real inspiration to me,” McKee said. “I just learned so much from him.”
When she married John McKee, it marked the beginning of a highly successful partnership, both on and off the racetrack. There were times when success didn’t come easy. It had to be earned, and they did.
Since the late 1970s, the McKees traveled around the region with their many horses, winning and earning respect at many racetracks from fellow owners, jockeys and trainers. The McKees won numerous awards, leading others by example, as to how horses should be owned and trained.
McKee’s career statistics include 3,557 starts, 330 winners, 374 places, 412 shows, with earnings topping $5.6 million. Last year, she had 93 starts, with 13 wins, 14 places and 15 shows. Earnings for 2024 topped $368,411. Some of her top performing horses include No Change, Direct the Cat and Overnight Pow Wow.
Direct the Cat, McKee admitted, is one of her favorites.
“This filly is different,” she said. “I knew she could run. She’s got that special kind of charm about her.”
McKee’s other top horses included M. Ripken, My Jordan and Bask in the Sun. John McKee trained Bridging the Gap, Command the Cat and Rachel’s Turn.
Over the past five decades, McKee has seen many changes in the horse racing industry. She remembers when spectators had to pay admission just to see the horses run at the track.
“I can recall the grandstands being packed,” McKee said. But when off-track betting came into being, attendance began dropping off. Now, there’s no admission at the track and the introduction of slot machines and table games at the Hollywood Casino has turned out to be a significant draw for the entire area.
So much has changed since McKee first ventured into the horse racing industry, but she won’t be letting up any time soon. Her love of horses and the passion for what she does remains immeasurable.
WEST VIRGINIA BREEDERS’ CLASSIC XXXVII
When: Saturday, Oct. 12
Where: Hollywood Casino at Charles Town Races
Post Time: 7 p.m.
Estimated purse for feature race: $300,000
Details: wvbcmbn@frontier.com
