Mid Atlantic Cooperative names O'Hara as executive director

Phil O'Hara, the executive director for racetrack development for Daily Racing Form, has been hired as the executive director of the Mid Atlantic Cooperative, which negotiates simulcasting agreements on behalf of 20 racetracks, the cooperative announced on Tuesday.

O'Hara, who will remain in his role at DRF, will fill a position that has been vacant since June 1 because of the retirement of Martin Lieberman, an attorney. O'Hara has a 30-year career in racing that includes positions at Penn National Gaming Inc. and a stint as president of Equibase Company.

The Mid Atlantic Cooperative was formed in 1998 as a way to leverage the bargaining power of the group's racetracks in simulcast negotiations. O'Hara was a racing executive at Penn National at the time and participated in the group's formation.

The group buys and sells signals on behalf of Atlantic City Race Course, Beulah Park, Colonial Downs, Delaware Park, Charles Town Races, Penn National Race Course, Parx Racing, Rockingham Park, Sam Houston Race Park, Suffolk Downs, and Thistledown, along with a handful of harness tracks.