NEWS
Texas-based owner Leland Cook dies at 75
Posted: Tuesday, November 10, 2009 11:54 AM
Leland Cook Jr., a well-known Texas-based owner and breeder and member of the Texas Thoroughbred Association, died on November 6 at age 75.
Cook became involved in horse racing in the 1990s with his first stakes winner, Senor Foxfire.
In 1993, Dixieland Heat won the LeComte Handicap, Risen Star Stakes, and Louisiana Derby (G3) for Cook. Dixieland Heat closed his three-year-old season with a 12th place finish to Sea Hero in the Kentucky Derby (G1). Cook also campaigned 2000 Texas Horse of the Year Gold Nugget.
A former college football player with Texas A&M and amateur boxing champion, Cook was involved in multiple business, cultural, and athletic organizations in Texas. In the 1980s, Leland and his son Byron also started TRADEWEST, which became one of the largest coin-operated video game licensing and marketing companies of the decade.
Cook is survived by his wife of 56 years, Sue, and sons Byron, Rob, Ken, Lance, and Brad.
Services will be held at 11 a.m. CST at Northside Baptist Church in Corsicana, Texas.
Condolences can be made online by clicking here while letters and cards can be mailed to TTA, P.O. Box 14967, Austin, TX, 78761.
