Officials at NYRA Cares and Backstretch Employee Service Team (B.E.S.T.) announced that a new healthcare clinic will be built at Saratoga Race Course and is due to open in 2023. As a tribute to his late wife, Marylou Whitney, philanthropist John Hendrickson is funding construction of the new clinic, which will replace a double wide trailer that has housed on-site healthcare services at the track.
The new clinic will provide a dramatically improved experience for those receiving primary and emergency healthcare services at Saratoga Race Course, which will be provided by doctors and medical professionals from Saratoga Hospital. John Hendrickson has pledged $1.2 million for construction of the permanent clinic, some $400,000 of which was raised in a 2020 auction of possessions belonging to Mrs. Whitney.
To date, a concrete foundation has been poured for the new clinic, which will include a large waiting area, four examination rooms, a lab for blood work and office space. A groundbreaking ceremony is set for Wednesday, July 13, on the eve of the 2022 summer meet. Work will then resume in September with the building to open in the spring of 2023.
“No one shared her blessings and good fortune more than Marylou,” Mr. Hendrickson said. “No one was more dedicated to helping charities than Marylou, and so the idea was born. Her spirit of giving will live on.”
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