Without providing a reason for her departure, Texas Racing Commission Executive Director Amy Cook announced she is leaving at the end of the year.
The change was disclosed at the commission’s October 8 meeting. Plans for her replacement have not yet been made public.
Amy Cook assumed her current position in November 2021. A few short months earlier, state lawmakers’ sunset review found operational and leadership deficiencies at the Texas Racing Commission.
Lawmakers spared the commission from abolishment in 2021—unlike the Texas Lottery Commission, which they abolished in 2025—but mandated that changes be made by 2027.
A state auditor’s summer 2024 report revealed a pattern of financial mismanagement at the Texas Racing Commission.
The audit highlighted multiple issues.
The TRC’s Horse Industry Escrow Account contained more than $3 million in expenditures that lacked proper documentation, and the account funds were used for impermissible purposes.
The commission failed to verify that purse supplements—meant for race winners—were actually used as intended. There were also errors in purse supplement allocation which resulted in overpayments and underpayments to various tracks.
Required annual audit reports from breed registries were often late and incomplete, with 75 percent lacking a required auditor statement on the proper use of funds. In addition, the commission could not provide documentation for 39 out of 40 required quarterly reports from breed registries.
The Texas Racing Commission will be subject to another sunset review in 2028-2029, at which time lawmakers will revisit the possibility of abolishing the agency.
Cook did not respond by publication to requests for comment regarding her departure and successor.
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