Walter E. O'Hara

Walter Edmund O'Hara (April 20, 1897 – February 28, 1941) was an American horse racing executive who was the first President and Managing Director of the Narragansett Racing Association, which owned and operated Narragansett Park, a Thoroughbred horse track in Pawtucket, Rhode Island.

Early life O'Hara was born on April 20, 1897, in Middleborough, Massachusetts. He attended public school there and then went to work for a newspaper in New Bedford, Massachusetts. He later moved to Fall River where he became involved in the textile industry. O'Hara made a fortune buying and selling textile machinery and factories. He gained control over a number of textile mills and controlled eleven corporations in Massachusetts, including Annawan Mills in Fall River.

Narragansett Park After he made a fortune in the textile industry O'Hara decided to branch out into other fields. He considered purchasing the Polo Grounds and constructing a sliding roof so the New York Giants could play in bad weather.

After Narragansett Park opened, O'Hara tried to become friends with local politicians. He established an alliance with former state Budget Director Thomas P. McCoy who was a candidate for the Democratic nomination for Governor of Rhode Island in 1936. McCoy was defeated for the nomination by Lieutenant Governor Robert E. Quinn.

On February 9, 1938, sheriff's deputies battered down the Narragansett Racing Association' doors and seized records on order of Superior Court. O'Hara then resigned as the association's president and managing director. He was succeeded by James Dooley.

In 1938, O'Hara ran for Governor and came in third. O'Hara received 12,696 votes as the Square Deal party's candidate in a race that was won by Republican William Henry Vanderbilt III.

In 1939, O'Hara sold his shares in Narragansett Park to James H. Connors.

Other business ventures In 1934, O'Hara was a founding director of the Boston Garden-Arena Corporation.

In 1935, he entered the public utilities business by forming the Pawtucket Light and Power Co. He based the company out of an abandoned textile mill, which had a suitable enough power plant and room for expansion. In 1936 the City of Pawtucket purchased the mill for $55,000 cash and a $35,000 tax abatement.

O'Hara held options on the site of Benning Race Track in Washington, D.C., and was prepared to build another race course there if parimutuel wagering was legalized in the district.

In 1940, O'Hara announced plans to build a $2,000,000 (~$ in ) race track near Atlantic City, New Jersey. However, plans fell through and the track was never built.

Suffolk Downs O'Hara was also the first managing director of Suffolk Downs. However, he left before the track opened because he felt the East Boston site was not suitable for a race track. He believed that the Sumner Tunnel was inadequate to handle the amount of traffic the track would receive, its location near oil tanks posed a possible fire hazard, and the purchase price of the land was too high.

In 1936, O'Hara made an offer to Charles Adams, Weston Adams, and Bruce Wetmore to purchase controlling interest of Suffolk Downs for $500,000 (~$ in ). His bid was rejected.

Personal life On June 24, 1918, O'Hara married Helen B. Langshaw of New Bedford. The marriage ended in divorce nine years later.

After his death, a legal battle ensued as to whom was entitled to ownership of O'Hara's two life insurance policies worth $80,000. During the proceedings, O'Hara was depicted as someone who would fly into a rage when drunk. On Christmas Eve 1940 he smashed a picture frame over his wife's head during an argument between the two of them in which his wife was said to have hit him in the eye with a gun. The policies were awarded to O'Hara's estate, as Mrs. O'Hara had surrendered the policies when she and her husband separated and he had the right to change the beneficiary to his estate.