Down the stretch
GENERAL-MANAGER CAREER COMES TO AN END FOR ERIC JACKSON AFTER 38 YEARS
For the past 38 years, Oaklawn Racing & Gaming has been a place to call home for the company’s general manager, Eric Jackson. For that time, Jackson has managed the gaming, racing and food aspects for Oaklawn, as well as everything in between.
Jackson said the company has a special place in his heart as a result of the interesting environment and the proximity to his hometown.
“I was born and raised in Hot Springs, and Oaklawn is the No. 1 commercial tourism proper ty in the state, and I know how important this is to my community; plus it’s a fascinating business,” he said. “It’s a sport. We call it agritourism because it’s everything from the farms to the visitor from Dallas. There’s not a lot of monotony at Oaklawn.”
He said a lot of this has to do with the dedicated staff at the track.
“We’ve got 700 year-round employees, and during this time of the year when we’re racing, we go up to about 1,500, and we’ve also got about 1,500 horses on the grounds,” he said. “Our total attendance last year was about 2.5 million, so there’s always something.”
Jackson said that because he has been at Oaklawn for such a long time, he has witnessed the evolution of the track and gaming center.
“We’ve seen the proper ty evolve enormously, especially the past 20 years,” he said. “It’s become one of the top racing centers in America and one of the top gaming centers in the South. It’s been very rewarding to watch the property mature and become a leader in America.”
Jackson was recently appointed by Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson to the Arkansas State Parks, Recreation and Travel Commission. Jackson will find out more about his position on the commission when it has its first meeting later this month. His appointment to the commission is a six-year term.
Taking Jackson’s position as general manager at Oaklawn will be the company’s current assistant general manager, Wayne Smith. Smith was chosen by the Cella family, who own and operate Oaklawn, and the track’s board of directors after much thought and deliberation.
He has more than 20 years of experience in financial and management property and said he has recognized what Jackson has done and the welcoming atmosphere he has created.
“I’ve been highly impressed with the team Eric has assembled in bringing Oaklawn to one of the top racing and gaming facilities in the country,” Smith said. “I look forward to working with the team in continuing that growth. Eric, the Oaklawn employees and the community have welcomed my family and me to Oaklawn and Hot Springs with open arms.”
Jackson said that he, the Cella family and the board of directors at Oaklawn saw that Smith was extremely qualified for the position and that his personality fit the bill.
“We interviewed a lot of people from all over the country. Wayne was one of the first people we interviewed,” Jackson said. “His personality, his skill set, his interest in gaming and racing, the way he interacts with people just seemed to be perfect. His view on community and state and family just seemed to be ideal for us.”
Jackson added that he helped make sure the transition to Smith was a smooth one.
“We started this two years ago and sat down with the Cella family and the board of directors of Oaklawn and talked about the most responsible way to do a transition of this sort,” Jackson said.
“Oaklawn hasn’t had many different general managers in its 113-year history.We decided that a two-year process would be good for Oaklawn and would be good for the staff at Oaklawn. [We needed to] find the right person, bring that person in and then journey with that person for a year or so, and that’s what we’ve done this past year.”
After stepping down from his general-manager position, Jackson will continue to help around the track on special projects, assisting in any way he can be helpful.
Jackson said he is proud to have seen Oaklawn grow and maintain its integrity.
“Oaklawn is in a wonderful position nationally, and its reputation nationally and internationally is second to none,” he said. “I think the key word is integrity. If there’s something I am most proud of, that would be it: the integrity of the overall operation. It’s been a great fit — Oaklawn and Arkansas. I think each benefits the other. It’s been a wonderful combination all the way around.”
We’ve seen the property evolve enormously, especially the past 20 years. It’s become one of the top racing centers in America and one of the top gaming centers in the South. It’s been very rewarding to watch the property mature and become a leader in America.” — Eric Jackson, Oaklawn general manager