Marylou Whitney (née Mary Louise Schroeder; December 24, 1925 – July 19, 2019) was an American socialite and philanthropist.

A prominent owner and breeder of thoroughbred racehorses, Whitney was notable for "reigning for decades as the social queen of the Saratoga and Lexington racing seasons".

In October 1997, Marylou married John Francis Hendrickson (born 1965), a (then) 32-year-old tennis champion and former aide to Governor Wally Hickel of Alaska, who was nearly 40 years her junior.

After being widowed, Marylou spent a substantial amount of time and money trying to buy back "Whitney Mares".

[3] Whitney also bred and raced champion filly Bird Town, who holds the record for the fastest Kentucky Oaks in history.

[15] The Marylou Whitney and John Hendrickson Cancer Facility for Women is 45,465 square feet (4,223.8 m2) and opened in 2002.

[citation needed] The Stroke Recovery Center at Cardinal Hill Rehabilitation Hospital in Kentucky is also named in honor of Whitney and Hendrickson for their support of that facility.

[citation needed] The Headley-Whitney Museum received funds from Marylou and John for a new wing that is the home to exhibits from the Smithsonian Institution.

The Doll Houses have raised over half of a million dollars for charities, and the garden is the setting for many weddings and private parties.

As a founder of the National Museum of Dance and Hall of Fame, she helped raise over $1.5 million prior to the 1986 opening.

Whitney and her husband John also donated $1 million to the Radiation Oncology Center at the Saratoga Hospital.

[20][21] In the mid-1980s, she asked C.V. Whitney that for her birthday he install air conditioning in the Canfield Casino, since she did not want her guests to suffer the heat at her annual ball.

[22] In 2015, Marylou and her husband, John Hendrickson, donated the cost to build Centennial Park in Saratoga Springs as a gift to the city for its 100th anniversary.

Upon CV's death in 1992, Marylou inherited Whitney Industries, a large gravel and lumber business with 51,000 acres (210 km2) of critical Adirondack real estate.

[24] The Marylou Whitney Medical Complex in Long Lake, New York, was also dedicated in her honor for her devotion to their needs.

In a nod to Marylou's radio persona, C.V. Whitney later named a race horse "Pvt Smiles."

There was also a tribute to the "Voice of the Brooklyn Dodgers" Red Barber, who died that year, by former broadcasting partners Mel Allen and Vin Scully.

Some of the celebrity guests at the events included: New York Yankees great Yogi Berra, sportscasting legend Curt Gowdy; WWE President Vince McMahon; former Dodgers Manager Tommy Lasorda; "Voice of Boxing" Don Dunphy; Metropolitan Opera singer Robert Merrill; NBA Commissioner David Stern; former President of NBC Sports Dick Ebersol; Boston Celtics play-by-play announcer Tommy Heinsohn; former Brooklyn Dodgers pitcher Ralph Branca; world-renowned artist LeRoy Neiman; NBC Sportscasters Don Criqui and Charlie Jones; Rachel Robinson, wife of Brooklyn Dodgers great Jackie Robinson; former Miss America and actress Mary Ann Mobley; founder of the Guardian Angels Curtis Sliwa and many others.

Whitney had many residences, including her "Cady Hill" estate in Saratoga Springs New York; a massive camp in the Adirondack Mountains; a farm near Lexington, Kentucky; a winter home in Florida; an apartment in New York City; and a residence in Alaska, the home state of her third husband.

[30] Whitney was the largest private donor to the 1980 Olympic Winter Games held in Lake Placid, New York.

The gift of the rose was accompanied by a $10,000 donation from Mrs. Whitney and her husband John Hendrickson to help with the upkeep of the gardens.

[32][33] Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky, honored her as "First Lady of the Oaks" in 2015 for her dedication to such causes as women's health, equine well-being and philanthropic endeavors that benefit the racing community.