Marylou Whitney’s husband on continuing late wife’s work, auction for Backstretch Clinic

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. (NEWS10) – John Hendrickson, Marylou Whitney’s husband, donated approximately 1,500 pieces of his late wife’s items for the Marylou Whitney Collection Auction. The auction will benefit the new building being built on the Backstretch of the Saratoga Race Course that will house a new medical center, run by Saratoga Hospital and the Backstretch Employee Service Team.

On Wednesday, people could begin previewing the auction items on the website. It crashed almost immediately, after fans of the beloved Saratoga icon inundated the website.

In his interview with NEWS10, Hendrickson said he’s committed to getting the clinic built and if the auction doesn’t raise enough for the project, he will fund what’s left himself.

“I like to think of myself as a man that gets things done so this will be built whether the proceeds total the cost, I will pay the rest of it out of pocket if it doesn’t,” said Hendrickson.

The auction action begins Monday, July 27, at midnight, and continues through Saturday, August 1, at 11:59 pm: Whitney Day at Saratoga Race Course.

“I will spend the rest of my life honoring her legacy and she was my world. I adored her and this was probably the most difficult year of my life being without my partner but I want her to stay alive forever, so I’m going to keep doing things she would want me to do,” said Hendrickson.