Spotlight: Brian Magie

Hailing from Goshen, New York, Brian Magie’s love for harness racing began in the grandstand of the historic track. “My grandparents were involved with the historic track. My grandmother would sell programs and my grandfather would do the first-turn patrol judge. I just came along. I was an usher at one point, cleaning off seats and then I would put my hand out for a quarter.”

Magie became a frequent fan at nearby Monticello Raceway in the early 1970’s, often arriving two hours early to ensure a spot in the crowded grandstand.

“None of my family had anything physically to do with the horses but I felt like I grew up with them. I remember all the big stables coming in, Billy Haughton, Stanley Dancer, Joe O’Brien. I was just enamored.” It was then that Magie decided that this was what he wanted to do.

However, it isn’t easy to break into the industry as a first generation horseman. “I was saddled with good grades so my family really didn’t want me in the horse business. It was quite a battle, so finally I just joined the airforce to get away.”

Magie served for four years and in that time his goals never changed, he knew he wanted to train racehorses. “I felt like if I could serve my country, I could make my own decisions, so when I got out in ‘81 I went right in the horse business.”

He learned how to brush a horse and muck stalls, offering to work for free to gain experience. “I remember the first horse I jogged; they said, ‘Don’t go down by the rail,’ and I kinda eased my way down and the horse ran off with me a little bit.”

After he learned the basics, Magie moved to central New Jersey where he has stayed ever since, now residing at a small farm in Chesterfield. He worked for several different people, learning from each one along the way. This helped him find success when he started his own stable.

His biggest win was in the 1996 Meadowlands Pace with Hot Lead. “It was quite a ride. He was the favorite going into the final. I remember being asked how do I handle the pressure of being the favorite in a million dollar race. I said, ‘That’s not pressure, that’s fun. The pressure is when you have to win a six claimer to feed your family or pay the rent. That’s pressure. What I’m doing, that’s fun.”

He also recalled one of his most exciting memories at Freehold Raceway. “We had a horse in the Dancer. It was a two heat race at Freehold. We had a horse called David’s Rainbow. He drew the rail in the elims and I think he won the elimination. He drew the rail in the final and finished second. He made like $76,000 for the owner in that one day. It was pretty exciting. We were the little guys still and everyone was rooting for us.”

Magie and his wife Judy, who grew up in the industry, continued managing a successful stable. In 2010, Brian accepted an offer to become a basketball coach at a local school. He enjoyed it so much that when the school asked him to become athletic director he accepted that role as well. “It seemed like every year they asked me to do something else.” He worked his way up from gym teacher to dean of students, and now serves as vice principal and has even acted as interim principal at the school. “I thought it was a very special place, this school.”

At the time, the Magie stable had about 20 horses. As Brian got busier with the school, he stopped hustling to keep horses in his barn and the stable began to shrink in size. This made it more manageable to get everything done in the barn with enough time to make it to school.

Growing tired of the pressures and demands that come with running a large stable, downsizing the barn was a welcomed change for the Magies. “We just wanted to get back to treating the horses like we own them, so [we said] let’s just own them.” Currently their stable consists of four horses that they fully own, two of which are homebreds. They enjoy the routine of staying local and racing solely at Freehold. “It is the same people racing every week so you become more of a community, more of a family than you do at other tracks.”

This change is working out quite well for the Magies. “With our little stable, we are winning and performing at a rate better than I recall us ever over the years. We used to never be able to make it on the list [of leading trainers] but we have been watching our name climb up the ladder.” The Magies are currently tied for third on the Freehold Raceway leading trainer list for 2024. They have won 18 of their 96 starts, giving them an impressive 18.7% win rate.

Brian gives Judy all the credit for their success. “Going into this year I have been more and more involved with the school. My wife has been doing just about everything [in the barn]. In the mornings she would get them ready, I would go ahead and jog them and train them and then shower and go to school.” A recent injury put Brian on the sidelines with a broken leg but Judy stepped up to the plate to keep the barn running. “Since I got hurt, she even jogs and trains. She has taken right over in the last few months.”

The couple enjoys their small operation and spending time with their Freehold family on race days. As someone who has competed on every size stage in harness racing, Brian Magie considers his little stable a “slam-dunk” so long as he gets to continue doing what he loves with who he loves.