Lou Tice, a veteran owner who raced 2009 Emerald Downs’ horse of the meeting Assessment, died April 1 in Seattle after a short illness. He was 76.
A renowned motivational speaker who worked closely with University of Washington football coach Steve Sarkisian and Seattle Seahawks coach Pete Carroll, Tice founded the Pacific Institute, an organization specializing in leadership development.
Tice and his wife, Diane, won the 2009 Longacres Mile Handicap (gr. III) at Emerald Downs with Assessment. That year, Assessment won three stakes and earned $257,000, the second-highest single-season earnings total in track history.
Howard Belvoir, who trained for Tice for 15 years, said the the man would be sorely missed. "There wasn't a person who didn't like him," Belvoir said. "He was always upbeat and positive, just an outstanding man."
Tice's final starter at Emerald Downs was the appropriately named Leadership, a son of Jump Start who finished third in the Gottstein Futurity last September.
A memorial service is scheduled for April 13 at 10 a.m. at St. Edward's Catholic Church, 4212 S. Mead St., in Seattle.
