John Lee held the New York Racing Association's (NYRA) image together during a nail-biting race that went down to the wire.

On February 13, John Lee sat in his office in Ozone Park, Queens, as noon came and went. As director of communications and media relations for NYRA, he was waiting for news that the state legislation had passed a measure to keep the beleaguered and bankrupt organization in business.

Noon was the final deadline, after two ...