Marylou Whitney Barn is stationed. She believed in finding retired racehorses new careers and loving homes once their racing careers ended. Attached to each Jockey Club registration paper of every horse she bred was a message indicating how to contact her if one of her horses was in need of a home. When her colt Birdstone beat Smarty Jones in the 2004 Belmont Stakes, denying Smarty Jones the Triple Crown, she was apologetic. In 2009, when there was a suggestion that an owner could enter another horse to block the filly Rachel Alexandra from running in the Preakness Stakes, Whitney said that if needed, she would withdraw her own horse to make room for the filly. Whitney was awarded the Eclipse Award of Merit in 2010, one of the thoroughbred industry's highest honors. As Whitney was accepting the Eclipse Award of Merit, she was also honored by New York Governor Andrew Cuomo. Cuomo's mother, Matilda, presented Whitney with a citation proclaiming her officially "the Queen of Saratoga." This was the first citation Governor Cuomo had given. In 2011, Whitney was elected to The Jockey Club. Marylou Whitney was voted into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame in 2019 as one of its esteemed Pillars of the Turf. Whitney donated and fundraised for several medical institutions. Over $44 million was raised for the building and establishment of the Markey Cancer Center in Lexington, Kentucky. As one of the founders, Whitney was a fund raiser and made many television appearances on its behalf. Whitney and John Hendrickson donated $2.5 million for the Marylou Whitney and John Hendrickson Cancer Facility for Women at the University of Kentucky Markey Cancer Center. The building was dedicated in Lexington, Kentucky, in December 2001 by officials from the University of Kentucky and the McDowell Cancer Foundation. The Marylou Whitney and John Hendrickson Cancer Facility for Women is and opened in 2002. It provides multidisciplinary ambulatory care for women suffering from breast cancer, gynecologic cancers, and lung, hematologic, gastrointestinal and urologic cancers. Whitney co-chaired an annual luncheon in Saratoga to raise funds to battle breast cancer for The Breast Cancer Research Foundation. 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. Whitney was one of the first hosts of the annual Cardinal Hill Telethon and was involved with