A new program awaits backstretch workers when the New York Racing Association kicks off its summer meeting at Saratoga racetrack in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., on Wednesday, thanks to John Hendrickson and his wife, Marylou Whitney, the longtime Queen of Saratoga.

Mike Veitch wrote in the Saratogian newspaper on April 30 that Hendrickson was putting together a program for "themed" dinners every Sunday night in addition to movies five nights a week during the 36-day meeting that runs through Labor Day, Sept. 1.

The dinners are being prepared by the same caterers who do the fund-raising galas for which Marylou Whitney is so famous. Hendrickson is coordinating the program with the Racetrack Chaplaincy and the Backstretch Employees Services Team (BEST). According to Veitch’s article, the dinners will take place on the Yaddo grounds adjacent to the "Jockey Y" recreation facility on Union Avenue.

Next Sunday’s kickoff dinner, as a tribute to the many Hispanic workers on the backstretch, is a Mexican fiesta, and will be funded by Whitney and Hendrickson.

Groups or individuals funding the other dinners are: Aug. 3 (Chinese), Stewart’s Shops; Aug. 10 (Italian), Ron and Michelle Riggi, Gainesway Farm and Overbrook Farm; Aug. 17 (Cuban), Jack and Debby Oxley and Tracy and Carol Farmer; Aug. 24 (Barbecue), Price Chopper; and Aug. 31 (Thanksgiving), Three Chimneys Farm, Live Oak Plantation, and Lane’s End. Additional sponsors for the program include Ed and Maureen Lewi, Pomegranate Inc., Allerdice Rentals, Panza’s Restaurant, Dogwood Stables, NYRA, Racetrack Chaplaincy and BEST.

Movies will be shown Wednesday through Sunday nights throughout the meeting on a 9 x 12 screen, either with Spanish subtitles or in Spanish. Commercial popcorn machines have been purchased by sponsors for the movies.

"Everyone I asked to help out said ‘yes,’" said Hendrickson, recently named but not yet confirmed as a member of the reconstituted NYRA board of trustees by powerful Senate Majority leader Joe Bruno, who announced his retirement this year. "This is a way trustees should get involved," he added.

With Bruno gone, New York racing no longer will have a strong advocate in state government. David Paterson, who became New York governor in March following the sex-scandal resignation of Eliot Spitzer, has made public comments critical of NYRA since taking office. At one point he even hinted that the process to give NYRA a franchise renewal be reopened.

Paterson has an interesting family tie to the sport and to the Whitney family that he mentioned briefly during the Belmont Stakes telecast June 7. His great-grandfather was a farrier who shod Harry Payne Whitney’s Upset for his victory over Man o’ War in the 1919 Sanford Stakes. It was Man o’ War’s only career loss and it is widely believed to have brought the term "upset" into the English vernacular.

H.P. Whitney was so happy following the Sanford he gave houses to several of the men who contributed to Upset’s victory, including one to Paterson’s great-grandfather. That was the house Paterson lived in as a child, according to Hendrickson, who says the governor affectionately calls Marylou Whitney "Cuz."

I guess a governor can get away with that. Everyone else around the area calls her the Queen of Saratoga. And it’s easy to see why. She is a beloved figure who has raised money for charitable causes for decades, especially in New York’s Capital District.

One of my only experiences with Mrs. Whitney came in a very odd way. While visiting the area before the race meeting one summer a dozen or so years ago for an event at the National Museum of Racing in Saratoga Springs, I saw her in the lobby bar of the Marriott Hotel near the Albany airport. There she was in the middle of a big crowd, playing darts with college-aged kids in a fundraiser for some charity I’ve long since forgotten. Television cameras were there with live coverage of the event during the local news, and she was encouraging people to come down to the Marriott and challenge her to a game.

Her energy then was amazing, and her dedication to worthy causes like the new backstretch workers program at Saratoga remains strong to this day.

By Ray Paulick

Sign up for our Email Flashes to get the latest news, analysis and commentary from Ray Paulick.

Tags: backstretch employees services team, david paterson, dogwood stables, ed and maureen lewi, gainesway farm, jack and debby oxley, joe bruno, john hendrickson, Lane's End, live oak plantation, man o' war, marylou whitney, mike veitch, New York Racing Association, nyra, overbrook farm, racetrack chaplaincy, Racing Charities, ron and michelle riggi, saratoga, three chimneys farm, tracy and carol farmer, upset

This entry was posted on Monday, July 21st, 2008 at 2:22 pm and is filed under People. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.