OVER THE MOON
Saratoga Springs Sojourn Fast paced fêtes, faster horses and an an even faster car
Marylou Whitney (le ) on the viewing stand at rthe races in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. Inset above: The Whitney Invitational Handicap trophy
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locks of folks from Middleburg flew up for the annual August festivities in the swank upstate New York spa known as Saratoga Springs: Maggie Bryant, Bill Backer, Mimi AbelSmith, Jacqueline Ohrstrom, Doug Fout, Ann MacLeod, Diana and Bert Firestone and more. The captivating town was awash in parades, parties and galas to celebrate 150 years of the finest in thoroughbred horse racing.Those first races, in August, 1863, were a welcome respite within weeks of the bloodshed at Gettysburg during the Civil War and continue as a welcome summer diversion. The Whitney family name has been linked to this magical place since 1900, when railroad tycoon William Collins Whitney rescued the track with a $365,000 investment. This year, as always, octogenarian Marylou Whitney was hostess, grand marshal and chairman. The widow of Cornelius Vanderbilt Whitney (W.C. Whitney’s grandson) is now married to the debonair John Hendrickson, 48, a constant appendage. The revelry began with a Floral Fête promenade of carriages, bicycles, petal-festooned baby carriages and even red wagons pulled by parents with blossomadorned children. Reminiscent of a long ago and longed-for era,Whitney and Hendrickson waved to thousands of spectators who lined the
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Butch Leitzinger with his blue Buga i Veyron 16.4 Grand Sport
sidewalks along Broadway. An ice cream social for all followed at Congress Park. Whitney and Hendrickson were honorary chairman of the Whitney Polo Meadow for the Saratoga Hospital Benefit and donated a surprise $100,000 for the intensive care unit. As founding sponsors of the Backstretch Employees charity, they also show up regularly for weekly Sunday suppers, English lessons and bingo games with the grooms and track workers, awarding lavish prizes to the winners. Swathed in a creamy yellow suit that matched the ribbon she cut,Whitney joined her husband to dedicate the $500,000 WhitneyViewing Stand at the training track one morning. The next afternoon, they presented Paul Bulmahn, owner of GoldMark Farm and the winner of The Whitney Invitational Handicap, with a new sterling silver, three-handled chalice trophy donated by youknow-who and adorned with the Whitney crest. The winning horse, Cross Traffic, was draped with a hand-made blanket of 500 pink roses. Of course, they were the appropriately named “Marylou Whitney Roses.” But we’re not finished yet, add to the races a flurry of other activities. Just ask Julie Chlopecki, who divides her time between Washington, Middleburg and Saratoga Springs. A partner at Xenophon Strategies, a Washington, D.C. public
affairs firm, she moves her base of operations to Saratoga during August. She’s often spotted holding court at the Reading Room or the side porch of her Union Avenue home. Among those visiting this summer for a bit of business: Reps. Bill Shuster (R-Pa.) and Paul Tonko (D-N.Y.), chairman of the U.S. Congressional Horse Caucus. At the annual yearling auction, we spotted Middleburg horseman and real estate guru John Coles and watched as an elegant bay filly topped the sale at $1,225,000 to an investor from Brazil. Back home in Virginia, we noticed a 1,200horsepower Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Grand Sport in front of the Ashby Inn recently. Professional race car driver Butch Leitzinger, three-time winner of the Rolex 24 at Daytona, was out for the weekend taking the blue baby for a country zoom. Meanwhile, five-time Grammy award winning singer and songwriter Mary Chapin Carpenter has quietly settled at her 105-acre farm in hunt country. (The asking price in February 2012 was $2.2 million.) Formerly known as “Sunny Side” and later “Lost Corner,” the 1919 Virginia farmhouse has been redesigned and renovated and is a mere hop, skip and a jump from Wolf Trap, where she recently performed with Shawn Colvin.The property features several fireplaces, a small barn and stunning inspirational views.
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MARYLOU WHITNEY AND TROPHY PHOTOS COURTE SY OF THE NEW YORK RACING ASSOCIATION. BUTCH LEITZINGER PHOTO BY VICKY MOON.
BY VICKY MOON