New Parx director of racing a man of many hats

David Osojnak is settling in as the new director of racing at Parx and assessing where improvements can be made at the Bensalem, Pa., track.

Osojnak replaces Sam Elliott, who left Parx in April. Assistant racing secretary Tom Creel filled in during the interim.

“My goal is to make Parx as strong as possible, to grow the product,” Osojnak said. “I’m going through stall applications right now. Maybe we can get some new horsemen here from Woodbine or Finger Lakes when their meets close. I’m not here to reinvent the wheel, but maybe we can tweak some things and make them work better.”

Osojnak, 50, is a native of Queens, N.Y., who “fell in love with racing” when his father began taking him to the track as a teenager. While attending the University of Arizona Racetrack Industry Program in 2010 and 2011, he did an internship at Parx under Sal Sinatra – now president of the Maryland Jockey Club.

“I loved it here during my internship,” Osojnak said. “I liked the team.”

For the last four years, Osojnak – or Dave O, if you prefer – has worked in the racing department at the New York Racing Association, most recently as assistant racing secretary.

Osojnak does not have the typical background of a racing official. After graduating from Penn State with an economics degree, he worked in the New York City banking industry for five years. During that time, he attended night school and earned a law degree.

For the next 10 years, Osojnak practiced real estate law on Long Island. But he wasn’t satisfied with that line of work and decided to make a career change.

“I didn’t know anyone in the racing industry,” he said. “I wanted to get a good foundation, so I went to the University of Arizona Racetrack Industry program for 1 1/2 years.”

Osojnak has worn a dizzying number of hats since graduating.

He worked as a consultant for the media ventures division of The Jockey Club in New York, and then for the Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance in New York and in Lexington, Ky. He then moved on to Equibase as a supervisor in customer service, processing entries from the tracks and disseminating the information.

Osojnak was next hired by Mike Anifantis as an official in the Calder racing office, the year before the track became Gulfstream Park West. He also worked in the Monmouth Park racing office for Mike Dempsey.

During this time, Osojnak became an accredited steward.

Osojnak’s goal at Parx is to run a clean ship and give all horsemen the same opportunities.

“Being an attorney, ethics is very important to me,” Osojnak said. “It was a big part of my education. That’s how I pride myself. Working in real estate, I would manage escrow accounts with millions of dollars in them.

“I treat everyone the same, whether you’re the biggest trainer on the grounds or have two horses.”