The designation of a “First Lady of the Oaks” has been part of the tradition
Along with her energy and advocacy in raising millions of dollars for the
With the triumph by Bird Town, who was honored with an Eclipse Award as the
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When the filly
won the 2003 Oaks in her stable’s colors, Whitney continued a family tradition.
Her late husband, C.V. Whitney, won four runnings of the Kentucky Oaks between
1936 and 1975. C.V. Whitney was the son of Harry Payne Whitney, who owned and
bred Regret, who became the first of only three fillies to win the Kentucky
Derby when she took its 41st running in 1915. Harry Payne Whitney also won the
1927 Kentucky Derby with Whiskery.
An observance of the centennial of Regret’s
milestone victory, widely regarded as one of the most important in the history
of the Run for the Roses, will be an important part of the celebration of this
year’s 141st Kentucky Derby.
The 2015 “First Lady of the Oaks” has touched the
lives of countless Kentuckians and others around the nation through her efforts
to donate to and raise funds for medical institutions. Whitney was one
of the founders of the University of Kentucky’s Markey Cancer Center in
Lexington and she and her husband, John Hendrickson, donated $2.5 million to the
Markey Center’s Marylou Whitney and John Hendrickson Cancer Facility for Women,
which was dedicated in 2001.
Whitney is beloved by friends and admirers in
Saratoga Springs, New York, where she is known to many as the “Queen of Saratoga”
and has hosted countless parties and gatherings through the years to benefit
institutions and causes throughout that region. On Monday, May 7, she will be
honored at the grand opening of the Marylou Whitney and Desmond Delgiacco MD
Intensive Care Unit at Saratoga Hospital.
In 2011, Whitney was honored with an Eclipse Award
of Merit for her “lifetime of outstanding achievement in Thoroughbred racing.”
She was a founding member of the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation and a major
contributor to the Secretariat Center at the Kentucky Horse Park.
The philanthropic spirit of Whitney and
Hendrickson is now focused on the individuals who work and live in the
stable areas of American racetracks. Seven years ago the couple launched the
Backstretch Appreciation Program at Saratoga to thank all backside
workers for their hard work and to provide opportunities for language
development among the backside population. Along with offering opportunities for
stable workers to learn English, the program offers a meal every night of the Saratoga meet and a
buffet dinner each Sunday. It also features movie nights, ice cream socials and
other programs to improve the quality of life for the women and men who work in
the stables.
“In a sport and industry that has produced more
than its share of legends and larger-than-life individuals in its rich history,
the racing world has never seen anyone like Marylou Whitney, and Churchill Downs
and the Kentucky Oaks are honored that she has agreed to serve as the ‘First
Lady of the Oaks’ for 2015,” said Kevin Flanery, president of Churchill Downs
Racetrack.
“It is impossible to measure the impact of the passion and compassion
Marylou Whitney has displayed throughout her incredible life in Thoroughbred
racing and beyond. Horses and humans have had few friends, if any, more special
than our ‘First Lady of the Oaks.’
“In the horse industry, she long ago achieved ‘single-name status’ enjoyed by
icons throughout the world of sports and one needs only to mention the name
‘Marylou’ to generate a smile among the many lives that she has touched in a
positive way. She epitomizes more than anyone the ‘Ladies First’ spirit of our
Kentucky Oaks celebration, its focus on women’s health issues and, of course,
the horse and the celebration surrounding one of America’s greatest races.
“We thank Marylou for all that she has done and the work she continues to do,
and we look forward to saluting her on Kentucky Oaks Day as the ‘First Lady of
the Oaks.'”
The tradition of “First Lady of the
Oaks” was introduced in 2009 when Churchill Downs added a focus on women’s
health issues as a vital part of the Kentucky Oaks which, like the Kentucky Derby, has been conducted without interruption since is
inaugural running since 1875. A “Ladies First” theme was adopted for the 2009
Kentucky Oaks and its emotional highlight was the first Survivors Parade. This
year 141 survivors of breast and ovarian cancers — one for each running of the
Kentucky Oaks — will march immediately prior to the race in the seventh
Survivors Parade.
A “Pink Out” fashion theme was also introduced in
2009 and became an immediate and popular part of the Oaks Day
celebration. All attending the Oaks are encouraged to incorporate the color pink
into their wardrobes for that day as part of the event’s focus on women’s health
issues.
Churchill Downs will team again in 2015 with Bright
Pink, the official women’s health partner of the Kentucky Oaks, and Horses and
Hope, Kentucky First Lady Jane Beshear’s cancer outreach initiative in
Kentucky’s horse industry, to raise funds during Kentucky Oaks Day to benefit
the work of those organizations.
Last year a check for $57,000 generated during the
Kentucky Oaks celebration was presented to Bright Pink, a Chicago-based
non-profit organization focused on the prevention and early detection of breast
and ovarian cancer in young women along with support for high-risk individuals.
With that contribution to Bright Pink in its first year as a Kentucky Oaks
women’s health partner, total donations to those partner organizations rose to
$589,000 since 2009.
A contribution of $30,000 was made to Horses and
Hope, a total that represented $1 from each on-track sale of the “Oaks Lily,”
the signature drink of the Kentucky Oaks. Horses and Hope has benefited from
donations of $180,000 through the six years of its partnership with the Kentucky
Oaks.
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