Gutterman signs on as NYRA marketing consultant

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Allen Gutterman, who served as vice president of marketing for the New York Racing Association in the early 1990s, has returned to the company as a marketing consultant, NYRA officials confirmed Wednesday.

Gutterman, who has also worked as a marketing official at The Meadowlands, Hollywood Park, and Santa Anita, will be here for the next three months, through the Belmont spring/summer meet that runs from May 1 through July 13.

“Allen’s here for a mutually agreed-upon, finite period to assist in the marketing of what will be the biggest Belmont Stakes ever, a new event on July 5th, Stars and Stripes Day, and a Saratoga meet that is expected to have a number of other firsts, including an enhanced Whitney Day,” said Eric Wing, NYRA’s director of communications and media relations.

“Allen has experience at NYRA and also working with Martin Panza,” Wing added. “It’s a great fit for everyone concerned.”

Panza became NYRA’s senior vice president of racing operations last November after spending two decades at Hollywood Park.

Gutterman worked at NYRA from 1990-94, during which time he helped create Breeders’ Cup Preview Day, a card during the Belmont Park fall meet that includes a bevy of Grade 1 stakes like the Jockey Club Gold Cup that, while prestigious events on their own, are stepping-stones to the Breeders’ Cup.

After leaving NYRA at the end of 1994 when Kenny Noe came in as president, Gutterman spent a year at Arlington Park, a year at Sam Houston, and a couple of years at New York City Off-Track Betting. Gutterman worked with Panza for six years at Hollywood Park before moving to Santa Anita, where he worked for seven years until the end of 2011.

“I think Martin’s going to do a lot of great things here,” Gutterman said Wednesday. “I’d like to do them with him.”

Gutterman will help fill a void in the marketing department that will be created when Rodnell Workman leaves his position as NYRA vice president of marketing in May.

Gutterman agrees with Panza on the concept of big-event days such as this year’s Belmont Stakes card (June 7), which includes 10 stakes and 13 races with total purses worth $8 million, and the July 5 card, which includes two new seven-figure turf stakes for 3-year-olds, the Belmont Derby and Belmont Oaks.

“In New York, you can make those days happen,” Gutterman said. “It’s a very selective crowd; you got to make them feel like they’re getting something special.”

Gutterman said he is happy to be back working in New York.

“You always want to operate at the highest level of the game at this time of your life,” Gutterman said.