NTRA names security consultant

The National Thoroughbred Racing Association has hired Isidore Sobkowski, a former chief technology officer for Self Service Technologies, to be a special consultant on technology and the interim director of its National Office of Wagering Security, the NTRA said on Friday.

Sobkowski has advised the New York Stock Exchange and New York City Off-Track Betting Corp. on security projects, the NTRA said. Sobkowski will start on May 1 and work out of the NTRA's New York office.

The NTRA has been searching for a director for its Office of Wagering Security since late 2003. In February, the association hired Sharon O'Bryan, a former executive with a Dutch banking company, but O'Bryan bowed out a month after the announcement was made.

Chip Tuttle, a spokesperson for the NTRA, said that the task force that hired Sobkowski would re-evaluate the position at the end of 2004 before deciding on a permanent director.