Raffetto named president of company with Chinese-language horseplaying website

Lou Raffetto, the longtime racing executive who most recently was executive director of the Thoroughbred Owners of California, has been hired to be the president of a company that says it has launched the first North American account-wagering site in the Chinese language.

The site, YUPracing.com, was launched late last year to target Chinese gamblers in the United States. It is owned and operated by the Singpoli Group, a conglomerate that has offices in Southern California, and XpressBet, the account-wagering company owned by the Stronach Group, is processing the site’s bets.

In a release, Kin Hui, the chief executive of Singpoli, said: “We are very excited to have Lou Raffetto leading our newest venture into the horse-racing industry. With his knowledge and experience in the industry, Lou will establish the direction of YUP Racing and grow it to become the top advance-deposit wagering website among Chinese in America.”

Raffetto has held a variety of management jobs in racing, including heading up the racing operations at the Maryland Jockey Club’s two tracks, Laurel and Pimlico, and Suffolk Downs in East Boston.