Calling it “a dream job,” David O’Rourke said he’s excited to tackle the challenges that lay ahead as the new president and CEO of the New York Racing Association. O’Rourke on Tuesday was appointed as the president and CEO of NYRA, replacing Chris Kay, who was forced to resign in January after the board of directors was made aware that Kay had used NYRA employees to do private work on the house he owns in Saratoga, which is considered a breach of company policy. That home is now up for sale. O’Rourke will assume the role of president and CEO immediately. He has been serving in those roles on an interim basis since Jan. 23. O’Rourke, 45, has been at NYRA since 2008. His roles included director of financial planning, then vice president of corporate development. In 2013, O’Rourke was appointed vice president/chief revenue officer. In that role, O’Rourke was responsible for NYRA’s business development strategies across a range of disciplines, including industry relations, simulcast markets and contracts, television strategy, advance deposit wagering operations and capital projects. O’Rourke played a key role in developing NYRA Bets, the company’s ADW platform, and getting NYRA’s races on television through Fox Sports and MSG networks. This year, there will be coverage nearly every racing day from Belmont Park and Saratoga. "David has made significant and lasting contributions to NYRA since he joined the organization more than a decade ago," NYRA board chairman Michael Del Giudice said in a press release. "He possesses broad expertise in nearly every facet of the industry, enjoys deep respect among his NYRA colleagues and industry peers, and understands how the sport and the business will continue to evolve in the future. His combination of skills and obvious leadership ability made this an easy choice and we congratulate David on this appointment." The leadership change at NYRA comes at a critical time for the company as well as the industry as a whole. In New York, redevelopment of Belmont Park is on the horizon, with ground expected to be broken this summer on track property on a new hockey arena for the NHL’s New York Islanders. That project, which also is expected to include a hotel and 435,000 square feet of retail, could disrupt racing operations this fall and next year at Belmont. Already, NYRA has decided to close this summer’s Belmont meet a week earlier than usual and extend the Saratoga season by one week, with that meet beginning July 11. If arena construction begins this summer, it remains to be seen how that would impact Belmont’s fall meet. O’Rourke said it is his “preference” to run at Belmont this fall, but it is possible that some or all of that meet would be moved to Aqueduct. Also, NYRA has plans of its own on renovating both the building and the racing surfaces at Belmont. O’Rourke said those plans will come together during the next nine to 12 months. “Over the next year we’re going to be in very highly focused planning for what our redevelopment of Belmont will look like,” O’Rourke said. “As we get further along and those plans can be shared, we’ll release them.” O’Rourke said equine safety and the quality of life for backstretch workers are among his priorities. He also said he wants to examine ways to improve conditions for New York horsemen, who have struggled with the high cost of doing business in New York, including high workers’ compensation premiums, as well as pressure from the state and federal department of labor. “We’ve had a strong focus on fan experience over the last few years,” he said. “I think it’s performed well … I’d like to take a hard look at the horsemen experience and see what we can do to elevate that.” NYRA will also keep tabs on significant changes proposed at Santa Anita in the wake of 22 equine fatalities at that track this winter. Among the key changes are a ban on use of the whip as well as a ban on Lasix scheduled to go into effect early next year. Monday, at the end of a New York Gaming Commission meeting, commissioner John Crotty said: “It would make sense for the New York State Gaming Commission to look at the number of proposals that they put out to determine which of these we are currently doing, which of these we are not doing, and what makes sense to look at as an overall regulatory scheme.” O’Rourke said that approach makes sense. “We are interested and focused on what they’re doing and how they are changing,” O’Rourke said. “At the same time we have in place best practices in terms of safety, but we’ll see if we need to adjust what our practices are.” O’Rourke said there are no plans to hire someone take to take over his previous job.