NEWS
Marylou Whitney
Posted: Wednesday, June 30, 2010 12:11 PM
MARYLOU WHITNEY
Adam Coglianese/NYRA photo
Marylou Whitney Stables
Marylou Whitney has been involved with racing since 1958, starting with her late husband, C. V. “Sonny” Whitney. The Whitney family has bred more stakes winners than any other family in American racing history. Sonny Whitney dispersed his stable in the 1980s because he did not want to burden his wife with the business, and felt it was time to sell.
After Sonny Whitney died in 1992, Marylou Whitney jumped back into the game and spent a lot of time and resources reacquiring old Whitney bloodlines. One of the first mares she acquired was Inca Legacy, the dam of Grade 1 winner Catinca. Another mare she acquired was Dear Birdie, who became Broodmare of the Year after she produced champion and Kentucky Oaks (G1) winner Bird Town and Belmont (G1), Travers (G1), and Champagne (G1) Stakes winner Birdstone.
Whitney and husband John Hendrickson now operate a stable with more than 100 horses. Her favorite horse is Dear Birdie, who produced her last foal, a filly by Street Cry (Ire), this year.
Whitney, however, loves all of her horses as if they were her pets. She has a special bond with horses because she was an avid rider. Whitney is adamantly against horse slaughter and puts a message on the back of all of the Jockey Club papers for her horses that reads: “If you are unable to care for this horse, please call my office, and we will come and transport the horse back to our farm.”
Whitney and Hendrickson have rescued several horses because of this message.
Whitney is a well-known socialite in historic Saratoga Springs, New York, hosting numerous galas. She and Hendrickson are also generous philanthropists and do a great deal of work on behalf of ¬stable-area workers, from weekly dinners to daily entertainment, through the organization Backstretch Employee Service Team.
Date of birth: December 24,1925
Birthplace: Kansas City, Missouri
Residences: Saratoga Springs, New York; with other homes and/or farms in Alaska, Florida, Lexington, and New York
Title: Owner
Company: Marylou Whitney Stables, Whitney Industries
Family: Married, five children
Involvement in racing: Owner and breeder; winner of Ogden Phipps Award as top breeder by New York Turf Writers Association in 2003; bred and campaigned ’03 champion three-year-old filly and Kentucky Oaks (G1) winner Bird Town; bred and owned Birdstone, who spoiled Smarty Jones’ Triple Crown bid with victory in ’04 Belmont Stakes (G1)
Other interests: Philanthropy, collecting doll houses, painting
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READER COMMENTS
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Posted by: MD, Greensboro, NC on September 04, 2010 at 02:44 PM
God bless people like Mary Lou & the other lovely ladies in this article. It proves that there are responsible owners who are in the sport b/c of their love of horses & racing. I'm delighted most are so involved in saving race horses from disasterous endings. We need more owners like them! Thanks, ladies for all that you do to improve the sport & look after the horses!
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Posted by: docgordy, ft. mitchell, KY on July 23, 2010 at 08:31 AM
What a remarkable person. I am a real fan of all her horses and follow them avidly.
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Posted by: Ginny, Bel Air , MD on July 10, 2010 at 01:00 PM
I worked in the business years ago in Lexington and saw how the farms took such great care of the mares, foals, yealings, stallions. But when the horses get to the tracks, the quality of care changes. Thank you Marylou, for being an animal lover. Maybe, every breeder should have your message on the back of their papers too.
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Posted by: Hanna, Radcliff, , KY on July 09, 2010 at 11:21 PM
What a Classy Lady, so nice to see how much she cares for the horses.
Other Breeders and Owners should take note and treat theyre horses with love, win or no win.
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