Marylou Whitney

The official logo for the 158th running of the GI Belmont Stakes presented by NYRA Bets, which will be held at Saratoga Race Course on Saturday June 6, was released by the New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA) on Tuesday. This year will mark the third and final edition of the Belmont Stakes Racing Festival at Saratoga. Beginning in 2027, the Belmont Stakes will return to its permanent home on Long Island at a new Belmont Park. The 2026 Belmont Stakes logo is centered around the Marylou Whitney Entrance at...

John and Leona Velazquez were publicly recognized for their longstanding commitment to the backstretch community at Saratoga, Belmont and Aqueduct on Wednesday when they received the Marylou Whitney and John Hendrickson Award from the New York Race Track Chaplaincy at the 18th annual fundraising brunch at the Saratoga National Golf Club, the non-profit said in a press release on Wednesday afternoon. On hand to assist with the award presentation was Marylou's Whitney's daughter, Heather Mabee. The brunch set a new record for fundraising. "Anyone who has spent much time around...

When graded-stakes winner Pretty Birdie (Bird Song) went through the sales ring at Keeneland in November as part of the dispersal of the estate of the late John Hendrickson, she sold for $1.1 million to Stonestreet, but after the mare was observed cribbing at her new home, the sale was nullified and breeders will get a second chance to bid on the 5-year-old at next week's Keeneland January Horses of All Ages Sale. Again consigned through Antony Beck's Gainesway, she will go through the ring as hip 453 during Monday's...

The 2-year-old filly Alyeska (Vekoma), an eye-catching, come-from-behind debut winner carrying the famed Marylou Whitney silks at Churchill Downs Sept. 20, brought a sale-topping $675,000 from bloodstock agent Steve Young at Keeneland's single-session November Horses of Racing Age sale Thursday, which produced substantial across-the-board increases. Fellow Marylou Whitney homebred and the once-raced 2-year-old colt Captain Cook (Practical Joke), a troubled sixth on debut beneath the Twin Spires Oct. 27, was also purchased by Young for $410,000, the second-most expensive lot of the day. The duo were both previously trained by...

Open to the public, a celebration of the life of John Hendrickson will take place at the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame on Friday, Aug. 30 from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. ET., the Saratoga repository said in a Thursday press release. Hendrickson, the museum's chairman since August 2017, passed away unexpectedly Monday at the age of 59. His services will be private.

The day after the sudden passing of philanthropist John Hendrickson, the racing community he had helped so much was mourning his passing. Hendrickson, who married Marylou Whitney in 1997, became the racing manager for Marylou Whitney Stables in addition to serving as president and chief operating officer of Whitney Industries. Hendrickson continued the racing stable after Whitney died in 2019 at the age of 93, campaigning graded stakes winners Pretty Birdie and Super Quick under the Marylou Whitney Stables banner. Hendrickson led numerous initiatives that enhanced Saratoga's National Museum of...

John Hendrickson, a philanthropist who was the husband of the late Marylou Whitney, died suddenly at a Saratoga hospital Aug. 19, according to the Albany Times-Union Monday. The Albany Times-Union reported that Hendrickson became ill at around midday and later died at the hospital. The cause of death has not been disclosed. Maureen Lewi, longtime friend to Whitney and Hendrickson, was with him in the hospital and confirmed his death to the Times-Union. "I was at the hospital holding his hand," Lewi told the Times-Union. "I was talking to him,...

Len Green will be honored by the New York Race Track Chaplaincy with the Marylou Whitney Award at its Annual Fundraising Brunch Aug. 14, the organization announced Thursday. Founder of The Green Group, a CPA firm specializing in the Thoroughbred industry, Green also works with son Jon who manages D.J. Stables, the owners of Eclipse winners Jaywalk (Cross Traffic) and Wonder Wheel (Into Mischief). "Len and his late wife Lois have silently, although generously, supported an increasing number of NY Chaplaincy vital initiatives and events over the course of the...

Nancy Underwood has been named executive director of the Backstretch Employee Service Team. Underwood succeeds Paul Ruchames, who retired in December after 14 years leading the organization. Founded in 1989, BEST is a non-profit organization devoted to supporting the health and well-being of the backstretch community living and working at Saratoga Race Course and Belmont Park. BEST provides on-site counseling and primary healthcare services, access to health insurance, and case management assistance. Much of this work is accomplished by the dedicated BEST staff located at Belmont Park and Saratoga Race...

It's been more than four years since Saratoga socialite Marylou Whitney passed away, but thanks to her husband John Hendrickson and trainer Norm Casse, her memory is never far away when it comes to the Saratoga season. Marylou Whitney Stables, now operated by Hendrickson, won with its first starter at the meet when homebred Empire Island (Classic Empire) won the day's sixth race by three-quarters of a length over Lady Moscato (Quality Road). A six-furlong maiden race for 2-year-old fillies that was run at six furlongs, it had a purse...

Sunday evening dinners have always been a hit among the many backstretch appreciation events that go on throughout the Saratoga race meet, but this summer the affair has become an ever bigger attraction now that Morrissey's Lounge and Bistro at the Adelphi Hotel is catering the weekly celebration. Every Sunday just before 6 p.m., upbeat music and savory smells reach Union Avenue as a crowd gathers at the Marylou Whitney Pavilion. With dozens of volunteers on hand, the vast smorgasbord of food remains open until 8:30 so that workers who...

The New York Racing Association, Inc. joined Assemblymember Carrie Woerner, philanthropist John Hendrickson and representatives from Saratoga Hospital, the Backstretch Employee Service Team and the New York Thoroughbred Horseman's Association for a ribbon-cutting to celebrate the opening of the new Saratoga Backstretch Clinic at historic Saratoga Race Course on Tuesday. The Saratoga Backstretch Clinic will allow Saratoga Hospital and BEST to expand on the existing healthcare services offered to members of NYRA's backstretch community. Located just inside Gate 16, the backstretch clinic was constructed over the past year to replace...