Plans afoot for Selin stakes at Ril
Where do I even start with this one?
Plans are being finalized for a stakes race at Tucson's Rillito Park that will honor former Lone Star Park press box staffer Pete Selin, co-organizer Michael Costanzo told Jim's Orbit last week.
The race, dubbed the Pete Selin Memorial Happy Minute, is tentatively scheduled for March 4 at the infamous Arizona bullring. Organizers are hoping to raise enough funds for a $5,000 purse, which would likely make it the meet's richest event and, more importantly, qualify the race name for recognition in the official Equibase chart, the Incompass racing information system, and the Daily Racing Form. In other words, the organizers don't want just another named race, they want something that will live forever in racing's official records.
Costanzo says that about half the purse remains to be raised. Anyone interested in contributing can contact me at yourfriendjimbo@gmail.com and I'll put them in touch with the right people.
I'll be there, for sure, and so will a lot of other racing folks who loved Pete Selin. He only worked in racing a few years, but he touched a lot of lives. He also touched a lot of beers, but still, probably more lives.
Selin was the media relations assistant at Lone Star until he was diagnosed with leukemia in February 2002. He passed away last January.
I first knew Pete when we were students at the University of Arizona's Race Track Industry Program. His recommendation helped me land the job as his replacement at Lone Star, undoubtedly the biggest pair of shoes I'll ever try to fill. He was one of the most charismatic and intelligent men I ever had the privilege of knowing, and I can't even begin to tell you what he meant to all his classmates in Tucson. But I will try as the Pete Selin Memorial Happy Minute draws nearer, so check back here for more event updates and remembrances.
Happy Minute, by the way, is a revered ritual at Tucson's oldest watering hole, the Buffet Bar and Crock Pot. Anyone in the bar at 5:45 p.m. gets a free drink, simple as that. Pete loved the tradition and helped popularize it amongst friends, classmates, and more than a few visiting lecturers.
It's hard to imagine any more fitting tribute to Pete than this scheme, dreamed up by three of his closest friends and admirers in racing. Costanzo's cohorts are Richard Scheidt of Del Mar and Scot Waterman of the NTRA vice squad. Even if they don't make it to $5,000, it's a beautiful story that would undoubtedly tickle old Pete.
Plans are being finalized for a stakes race at Tucson's Rillito Park that will honor former Lone Star Park press box staffer Pete Selin, co-organizer Michael Costanzo told Jim's Orbit last week.
The race, dubbed the Pete Selin Memorial Happy Minute, is tentatively scheduled for March 4 at the infamous Arizona bullring. Organizers are hoping to raise enough funds for a $5,000 purse, which would likely make it the meet's richest event and, more importantly, qualify the race name for recognition in the official Equibase chart, the Incompass racing information system, and the Daily Racing Form. In other words, the organizers don't want just another named race, they want something that will live forever in racing's official records.
Costanzo says that about half the purse remains to be raised. Anyone interested in contributing can contact me at yourfriendjimbo@gmail.com and I'll put them in touch with the right people.
I'll be there, for sure, and so will a lot of other racing folks who loved Pete Selin. He only worked in racing a few years, but he touched a lot of lives. He also touched a lot of beers, but still, probably more lives.
Selin was the media relations assistant at Lone Star until he was diagnosed with leukemia in February 2002. He passed away last January.
I first knew Pete when we were students at the University of Arizona's Race Track Industry Program. His recommendation helped me land the job as his replacement at Lone Star, undoubtedly the biggest pair of shoes I'll ever try to fill. He was one of the most charismatic and intelligent men I ever had the privilege of knowing, and I can't even begin to tell you what he meant to all his classmates in Tucson. But I will try as the Pete Selin Memorial Happy Minute draws nearer, so check back here for more event updates and remembrances.
Happy Minute, by the way, is a revered ritual at Tucson's oldest watering hole, the Buffet Bar and Crock Pot. Anyone in the bar at 5:45 p.m. gets a free drink, simple as that. Pete loved the tradition and helped popularize it amongst friends, classmates, and more than a few visiting lecturers.
It's hard to imagine any more fitting tribute to Pete than this scheme, dreamed up by three of his closest friends and admirers in racing. Costanzo's cohorts are Richard Scheidt of Del Mar and Scot Waterman of the NTRA vice squad. Even if they don't make it to $5,000, it's a beautiful story that would undoubtedly tickle old Pete.
posted by Jimbo @ 1/28/2007 10:15:00 PM
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