McKinney was bred by H. H. Wilson, Abdallah Park, Lexington, Kentucky. In 1887 McKinney was sold to Charles A. Durfee and relocated to California to be trained by Jim Durfee, while also standing at stud. In 1902 he was sold twice. First to Bloomington, Indiana, and then sold to William Simpson standing at stud at Empire State Stud in New York. He had a total of around 1400 foals. Hall of Fame Immortal 1956. His skeleton was donated to the American Museum of Natural History as a representative of the standardbred breed.