Marylou Whitney

Marylou Whitney
Whitney with husband John Hendrickson
Born	Marie Louise Schroeder (1925-12-24) December 24, 1925 (age 91) Kansas City, Missouri
Occupation	Socialite, philanthropist
Years active	1950s–present
Spouse(s)	Cornelius Vanderbilt Whitney (1958–92; his death) John Hendrickson (1997-present)

Marie Louise "Marylou" Whitney (née Schroeder; born December 24, 1925 in Kansas City, Missouri), is a philanthropist and a prominent socialite. Whitney has many residences, first and foremost her "Cady Hill" estate in Saratoga Springs New York, a massive camp in the Adirondacks, 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 husband.

Schroeder married Frank Hosford in 1948, and they had four children: Marion Louise "M'Lou", Frank "Hobbs", Henry "Hank", and Heather. After her divorce, she married Cornelius Vanderbilt "Sonny" Whitney in 1958, and they had one daughter, Cornelia. CV "Sonny" Whitney died in 1992, leaving Marylou with an estate estimated at the time to be $100 million. In October 1997, Marylou married John Hendrickson, a (then) 32-year-old tennis champ and former aide to Governor Walter Joseph Hickel of Alaska. John proposed to Marylou in Buckingham Palace.

C.V. Whitney and his family were a major force in Thoroughbred horse racing and have had more stakes winners than any other family in the history of racing in the United States. Whitney dispersed his stock in the 1980s, not wanting to burden his wife with the business. After C.V.'s death, Marylou spent a substantial amount of time and money trying to buy back "Whitney Mares". She purchased Dear Birdie, who proved to be the foundation for "Marylou Whitney Stables". Dear Birdie was named Broodmare of the Year in 2004. She is the dam of Birdstone and champion Bird Town. Marylou Whitney Stables bred, raced and stands Birdstone, the 2004 Belmont Stakes and Travers Stakes winner. Birdstone produced two classic winners in his first crop: 2009 Kentucky Derby winner Mine That Bird and eventual 2009 Three Year Old Champion Summer Bird. No other stallion has sired two classic winners in his first crop since the late 19th century. Whitney also bred and raced champion filly Bird Town, who holds the record for the fastest Kentucky Oaks in history. Whitney is the only woman to breed and race a Kentucky Oaks winner. In 2003, she was honored by the New York Turf Writers with the Ogden Phipps Award (Top Breeder). Whitney was one of the founding members of the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation and was the major contributor to the Secretariat Center at the Kentucky Horse Park, where the Marylou Whitney Barn is stationed. She believes in finding retired racehorses new careers and loving homes once their racing careers have ended. Attached to each Jockey Club registration paper of every horse she breeds is a message indicating how to contact her if one of her horses needs a home.