Sam Houston Race Park (SHRP) has appointed veteran sports executive Wayne Hodes as Chief Sales and Marketing Officer and Senior Vice President for the organization. In his new role, Hodes will oversee the marketing, group sales, sponsorship and public relations departments for SHRP.

Hodes comes to Houston’s racing scene after notable roles with top sports franchises including serving as Chief Operating Officer for the Austin-based AFL team the Wranglers; Vice President of Sales & Marketing for Major League Baseball’s Tampa Bay Devil Rays; and Chief Sales & Marketing Officer for the New Orleans Saints of the NFL.

“I am excited to lend my experience and creative initiatives to Sam Houston Race Park,” Hodes stated. “I plan to focus my efforts on creating multi-faceted and integrated sponsorship and marketing packages to brand our product with companies that have similar missions to that of Sam Houston Race Park.”

Among his primary goals for SHRP, Hodes will work to secure naming rights for SHRP in 2009. “As a business that sees more than 1.3 million patrons annually and is open 364 days a year, we offer tremendous opportunity for a business to brand with us both in the Houston market and on a national level. Sam Houston Race Park has the ability to offer our partners significant exposure opportunities,” he said.

Chief Operating Officer Andrea Young commented that with the addition of Hodes to the executive staff, “we have solidified a strong executive team that is focused and dedicated to promoting our racing product and shifting operational behaviors across the horse racing industry.”

Hodes is the recipient of numerous professional awards including leading minor league baseball’s Trenton Thunder to Baseball America’s Organization of the Year Award, receiving the National Association of Professional Baseball League’s Executive of the Year Award two times, and The Sporting News dubbed him Minor League Baseball’s National Executive of the Year.

Hodes actively participates in many professional and community organizations. He and his wife Stacie, and their children, Vinny and Sarah, are in the process of relocating to Houston.

Sam Houston Race Park hosted more than 20 concert events and 800 private and corporate functions in 2007. SHRP will be home to nearly 40 concert events and more than 1,000 functions in 2008.