Saratoga’s All-Time Winningest Jockey Receives Marylou Whitney Award

SARATOGA SPRINGS — Hall of Fame jockey Johnny Velazquez and his wife Leona will be this year’s recipients of the newly renamed John Hendrickson and Marylou Whitney Award due to the couple’s support of the New York backstretch community. The award will be presented at the 18th Annual Fundraising Brunch on Aug. 13 at the Saratoga National Golf Course.

In 2013, Velazquez became the all-time leading rider at the Saratoga Race Course with his 694th career win. In August 2022, he became the first jockey to win 1,000 races at Saratoga.

The annual award was originally known as the Marylou Whitney Award but it was renamed by the New York Race Track Chaplaincy after the sudden passing of her husband John Hendrickson last year.

“Like his late wife, John had a special place in his heart for the backstretch community and we thought renaming the award in this way was a fitting tribute to his legacy of humanitarian spirit,” said Ramón Dominguez, president of the Board of the NY Chaplaincy, in a news release.

Velazquez, who serves on the New York Race Track Chaplaincy board of directors, has won two Eclipse Awards as the nation’s outstanding jockey (2004, 2005), as well as six Triple Crown races and 21 Breeders’ Cup races. He has been an active member of The Jockeys’ Guild for many years and currently serves as the co-chairman of the organization. Leona has served on the Belmont Child Care Association board and her family has been active in a variety of backstretch organizations for several decades.