(Texas Scorecard) \u2013 Without providing a reason for her departure, Texas Racing Commission Executive Director Amy Cook announced she is leaving at the end of the year.<\/p>\n
The change was disclosed at the commission\u2019s October 8 meeting. Plans for her replacement have not yet been made public.<\/p>\n
Amy Cook assumed her current position in November 2021. A few short months earlier, state lawmakers\u2019 sunset\u00a0review<\/a>\u00a0found operational and leadership deficiencies at the Texas Racing Commission.<\/p>\n Lawmakers\u00a0spared\u00a0<\/a>the commission from abolishment in 2021\u2014unlike the\u00a0Texas Lottery Commission<\/a>, which they abolished in 2025\u2014but mandated that changes be made by 2027.<\/p>\n A state auditor\u2019s\u00a0summer 2024 report<\/a>\u00a0revealed a pattern of\u00a0financial mismanagement<\/a>\u00a0at the Texas Racing Commission.<\/p>\n The audit highlighted multiple issues.<\/p>\n The TRC\u2019s Horse Industry Escrow Account contained more than $3 million in expenditures that lacked proper documentation, and the account funds were used for impermissible purposes.<\/p>\n The commission failed to verify that purse supplements\u2014meant for race winners\u2014were actually used as intended. There were also errors in purse supplement allocation which resulted in overpayments and underpayments to various tracks.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n