Governor appoints new OTB chair

BY NOAH ROSENBERG

Wednesday, June 24, 2009 11:11 AM EDT

A year after New York State enacted legislation to assume management of the financially-imperiled New York City Off-Track Betting Corporation (NYCOTB), Governor David Paterson has announced the appointment of a new chair at the corporation.

Meyer “Sandy” Frucher, whose appointment does not require Senate confirmation, currently serves as the vice chairman of the NASDAQ OMX, a public company that owns the NASDAQ and several other stock exchanges.

Frucher comes to the helm of a public benefit corporation that was created by statute in 1970 and handles wagers on a large portion of in- and out-of-state thoroughbred and harness horseracing. In 2007, NYCOTB had a hand in nearly 40 percent of the more than $2.6 billion wagered instate on the sport.

“Sandy Frucher’s expertise and experience in both the public and private sectors should give New Yorkers the confidence to know that he will make prudent decisions for the New York City Off-Track Betting Corporation,” Paterson said in a statement. “NYCOTB customers and employees alike will be well served by his leadership and I welcome his new role.”

David Cornstein, appointed NYCOTB chair in 1994 by then-Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, will remain a member of the corporation’s Board of Directors.

The state takeover of NYCOTB in June of 2008 – a transition that Cornstein helped navigate – preserved over 1,500 city jobs.

In his statement, Paterson said that Cornstein would “continue to be of invaluable service to the NYCOTB, utilizing his long experience at its helm to keep the work of the corporation moving forward.”