Eric Jackson

Eric Jackson has been Oaklawn's General Manager since 1987. Prior to that Jackson had been Oaklawn's Director of Operations since 1978. He has been a member of the Oaklawn Board of Directors since 1994.

In addition to responsibilities as General Manager of Oaklawn and president of Southwest Catering, Jackson is also president of RaceTech and heads up R & D for Race Tech in Hunt Valley, Maryland.

As a young man, Jackson played golf on a course on the Oaklawn infield and covered the racing season for the local newspaper. He went on to graduate from Hendrix College with a degree in business and economics.

In addition to his responsibilities at Oaklawn, Jackson has been heavily involved in numerous state and community activities, including the state and local Chambers of Commerce, Governor's Task Force on Hot Springs National Park, Downtown Hot Springs Revitalization, Garland County Industrial Development Corporation, Hot Springs Advertising and Promotion Commission, National Park Rotary and Fifty for the Future. 

For the past 15 years he has volunteered much of his time to the Sisters of Mercy Healthcare System, which encompasses some 30,000 employees at hospitals in the Midwest.  He presently serves on that organization's national board of directors as well as its finance and audit committee and compensation committee. In the spring of 2007 he was part of a delegation that journeyed to Rome, Italy, to engage in dialogue with the Vatican regarding healthcare in the United States.  He is also a two-time recipient of the Paul Harris Fellow Award of Rotary International, Outstanding Young Arkansan Award and the Governor's Volunteer Excellence Award.  He was presented by the City of Hot Springs with a special award in 2001 for lifetime contributions to the community of Hot Springs, particularly in the area of tourism and economic development.

In 2007 Eric was honored as a Distinguished Citizen by the Boy Scouts of America and presented with the McKenzie Award, being only the second person to receive such an honor since 1913 in this region.

In 1980's Jackson helped conceive  and develop America's first interstate full-card simulcasting with merged pool wagering. Merged-pool simulcasting has since grown to account for 80% of the wagering placed on horse racing in North America.  In 1997 Jackson developed the concept that led to the patent of the Instant Racing System and the formation of the RaceTech company.

He has been a guest speaker at a number of national conferences on racing and gaming, and at the University of Arizona Racetrack Industry program.