Father of trainer Ralph Nicks, Morris was based primarily in the southwest.
Longtime trainer Morris Nicks, also the father of trainer Ralph Nicks, died Nov. 25 at home in Waskom, Texas, at age 74. He had been battling cancer.
“His upbringing and bringing me up was to have a good work ethic and to start doing things early,” said Ralph, who trained 2017 champion 2-year-old filly Caledonia Road . “If you were big enough to hold a pitchfork, you were big enough to start cleaning a stall. Basically if you were big enough to walk, you learned how to lead a horse; the list goes on from there. It’s how he brought me around, which probably has to do with some of the things I was able to accomplish and carry on.”
Morris was born in Clarksville, Texas, and grew up in the nearby town of Avery. He became a mainstay at the Southwest racetracks. Since official statistics began being tracked in 1976, he trained 819 Thoroughbred winners that earned $15,737,189 through 2018, according to Equibase. Morris retired in 2018 due to leukemia.
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