SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. -- A Saratoga racing season tradition has come to an end. Marylou Whitney and her husband, John Hendrickson, will no longer hold the annual Whitney Gala.

The gala was one of the premier, if not the premier party of the season in Saratoga.

The last event was held in 2010. Last year, it was canceled.

Now the couple has decided to end the tradition, which took place the night before the Whitney Stakes at the Saratoga Race Course.

Whitney, now 86, began hosting the gala in the 1960s when she was married to Cornelius Vanderbilt Whitney. Instead of the gala, the couple says they want to shift to a more charitable role, hosting events for the backstretch workers during the meet.