Instead, the husband-and-wife track owners and riders watched from indoors as McGhee's Mile Standardbred Training Center was awash in rain.

``We didn't get a chance to get out at all,'' said Janis McGhee. ``We're praying that the storm comes in and gets out by Saturday. We look forward to this event all season.''

Harness Racing action will start at 1 p.m. at McGhee's Mile Standardbred Training Center with the first of eight scheduled 1-mile races between the 2- and 3-year-old trotters and pacers.

Janis McGhee drove Hot Spell to a first place finish and the fastest pacer time of the day last year, finishing the one-mile run in 2:04.

The McGhee's have four horses in the final leg of this year's Aiken Triple Crown, which started two weeks ago with the Aiken Trials and picked up last weekend with the Aiken Steeplechase.

Bruce McGhee favors a Dr. Bruce Wenger-owned horse to have the best finish on the day, despite the fact that he and Janis will be driving horses in the same race against him.

``He had an outstanding year as a two-year-old,'' he said of Tom Bruce, a 3-year old trotter. ``He broke a record and ran well every time out of the gate. He's an outstanding individual and will definitely be an odds-on favorite to win here. He'll be the one to watch.''

For the third consecutive year, top finishers will battle for a $1,000 purse in each race.

The Security Federal Race will get things started, followed by the Burger King Race, the Aiken Regional Medical Centers Dash for Cash, the USCA Pacers Race, the Miller Lite Dash, the Daisy Black-Austin Trot, the Bank of America Race and the Aiken Coca Cola Race.

A year ago, four of the eight races went down to the wire and two were determined by a photo finish before an estimated crowd of more than 6,000. Randy Warrick, the USC Aiken Athletic Director, expects more of the same this time around.

``The big thing right now is the weather,'' Warrick said. ``But no matter what, we're expecting to have a great third leg of the Aiken Triple Crown. Everything's been right on time so far. We're expecting a great turnout and some equally exciting race action.''