Texas Racing Commission Executive Director Amy Cook announced she will step down at the end of 2025

AUSTIN, TX–OCTOBER 24, 2025–Texas Racing Commission Executive Director Amy Cook will step down at the end of the year, she announced during the commission’s October 8 meeting. No details were provided regarding her departure or plans for her successor.

Cook has served as executive director since November 2021, taking the post just months after a legislative sunset review identified operational and leadership deficiencies within the agency. Lawmakers ultimately spared the Texas Racing Commission from abolishment in 2021—unlike the Texas Lottery Commission, which was dissolved in 2025—but required substantial reforms to be completed by 2027.

A state auditor’s report released in summer 2024 found ongoing financial mismanagement at the commission. Auditors cited more than $3 million in undocumented or impermissible expenditures from the Horse Industry Escrow Account and identified significant errors in purse supplement oversight, including both overpayments and underpayments to racetracks.

The report also noted widespread noncompliance from breed registries: 75 percent of annual audit reports lacked required auditor statements, and the commission could not produce documentation for 39 of 40 mandated quarterly reports.

The Texas Racing Commission is scheduled for another sunset review in 2028–2029, when lawmakers will again determine the agency’s future.

*******************

Would you like more industry news delivered directly to your inbox? Click here to sign up.