Joseph Judge, part owner of 2005 Preakness Stakes (gr. I) and Belmont Stakes (gr. I) winner Afleet Alex during the colt's racing days, died Sunday, Jan. 20, of complications from cancer, according to The Inquirer. He was 70.
Afleet Alex was the first horse owned by Judge, who teamed with fellow Philadelphia area residents Chuck Zacney, Jennifer Reeves, Joe Lerro, and Bob Brittingham to race the son of Northern Afleet .
Judge, who worked in the health care industry, initially said 'no' when asked if he wanted to buy an interest in Afleet Alex because he wanted to retire. "He didn't want to take that chance, that anything would stop him from retiring," his wife, Barbara, told The Inquirer.
Luckily for him and Barbara, he changed his mind.
After finishing third in the Kentucky Derby (gr. I), Afleet Alex captured the Preakness by 4 3/4 lengths, and then won the Belmont by seven lengths. He was voted champion 3-year-old male.
Afleet Alex, who entered entered stud in 2006, stands at Antony Beck's Gainesway Farm near Lexington. He has sired 19 stakes winners.