Philip Dunn, who served as the executive director of simulcast and supervised broadcast programming at The New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA) through the mid 1990s, died Monday at the age of 81. 

Hired initially by NYRA in 1961 as an administrative assistant, Dunn advanced rapidly within the organization to serve as the assistant director of public relations en route to a job as the director of advertising and promotions.  He left NYRA in 1969 and went on to hold managerial roles at Fasig-Tipton and Meadowlands Racetrack before returning to NYRA in 1986 as executive director of product development.  As such, he was primarily responsible for securing out-of-state simulcast contracts and in 1987 also assumed supervisory duties of NYRA’s broadcast programming department.  He retired in 1995 as the executive director of simulcast and TV systems.

A native of Brooklyn and longtime resident of Floral Park, N.Y., Dunn graduated from Fordham University in 1951 and received a master’s in business administration from Columbia University in 1953.  He also served four years in the United States Navy, retiring in 1956 as a Lieutenant. 

Dunn is survived by his sons, Kevin, Brian and Bruce, daughters Maureen and Cynthia, and nine grandchildren. Friends may call Wednesday, January 5 and Thursday, January 6, from 2-5 and 7-9:30 p.m. at Thomas F. Dalton Funeral Home, 29 Atlantic Ave., Floral Park, N.Y. 11001.  A funeral mass will be held Friday, January 7, at 11:15 a.m. at Our Lady of Victory R.C. Church, 2 Floral Parkway, Floral Park, N.Y. 11001.