Saratoga’s Grand Dame Must Forgo Big Night Out

Marylou Whitney, 80, has a stroke and has to cancel the gala at Canfield Casino in Congress Park. She will be resting with her husband at Cady Hill, their 135-acre estate. The gale is a big loss for the community. She is part of the Saratoga community 12 months a year. Some of her friends are sending her cards. They are also mourning her absence at the best-hat contest at Saratsog. Sheryl Schwartz is the wife of Barry Schwartz, a co-founder of Calvin Klein. He is also a prominent thoroughbred owner and breeder.

Whitney is taking it day by day whether she will make her first public appearance at the racetrack on Saturday. She is beloved here for her kindness and charitable works. C. V. Whitney died in 1992 at 93 and left his fortune to his daughter Marylou. The city of Saratoga Springs has booked the Canfield Casino for everything from weddings to bar mitzvahs into 2008. The Whitney Gala has long reflected her tongue-in-cheek worldview. It is why thousands of cards and scores of bouquets have arrived at Cady Hill since word of her stroke became public.