John Hendrickson, the 59-year-old widower of Saratoga Springs socialite Marylou Whitney, died suddenly in Saratoga Springs, multiple sources told The Daily Gazette family of newspapers Monday.
Hendrickson has been president of the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame in Saratoga Springs since 2017.
In March of this year, he put the Spa City mansion known as Cady Hill up for sale. Geyser Road was Whitney’s summer residence for decades.
Hendrickson, a Florida resident, told The Daily Gazette newspaper family at the time that he was spending less time in Saratoga Springs.
His philanthropic efforts continued even after Whitney’s death in 2019. In June, he founded Fix-a-Bull, a company that provides free spay and neuter services for pit bull-type breeds in the Palm Beach area, where he lived and was a board member of the Peggy Adams Animal Rescue League.
Marylou Whitney’s legacy continues to help Saratoga’s backstretch community (7/2023)
He was also involved in Whitney’s Backstretch Appreciation Project, which was launched in 2007 to help stable employees who were away from home during the Saratoga racing season.
After Whitney’s death, Hendrickson supported the program through an auction that sold some of his late wife’s belongings. The proceeds went to the Saratoga Backstretch Clinic, which provides health care for backstretch workers. It is operated by Saratoga Hospital and the Backstretch Employee Service Team (BEST), who first became involved in the project about 15 years ago and originally operated out of a trailer.
The new facility will open in 2023 and will feature five exam rooms and an on-site laboratory. The walls are decorated with paintings donated by Hendrickson depicting scenes on the racetrack.
Part of Saratoga Springs Highway renamed in honor of Marylou Whitney (4/2022)
Hendrickson served as an advisor to Governor Andrew Cuomo on the New York Racing Association’s Reorganization Board on matters related to Saratoga Race Course from 2012 to 2016 and was originally appointed as a non-voting member of the board created when New York State assumed control of the NYRA.
In the 1970s, Whitney helped convince the NYRA to keep Saratoga open at a time when wagering and attendance were declining. Her efforts and long-term vision paid off, as the summer meet at Saratoga drew more than a million fans annually. Whitney was nicknamed the “Queen of Saratoga” because of her philanthropic initiatives in Saratoga Springs.
Whitney is buried in Greenridge Cemetery in Saratoga Springs next to her second husband, CV Whitney. Her will stated that Hendrickson could be buried there if she so desired.
Marylou Whitney’s legacy continues to help Saratoga’s backstretch community (7/2023)
Part of Saratoga Springs Highway renamed in honor of Marylou Whitney (4/2022)
Marylou Whitney is remembered as the glamorous patroness of the stable boys (7/2019)
Owner, breeder and philanthropist Marylou Whitney dies at the age of 93 (7/2019)
