Owner, breeder Campbell passes at 95

Successful owner and breeder Alex G. Campbell, Jr., died Aug. 15 in Delray, Fla. He was 95.

Campbell achieved his first stakes winner in 1985 in Kentucky, but his colors truly rose to prominence in the 1990s in California. Homebred Queens Court Queen winning the Grade 1 Santa Maria Handicap in 1995, and her half-brother Mr Purple winning the Grade 1 Santa Anita Handicap the following year.

A particularly meaningful runner for the native of Lexington, Ky., was homebred Karlovy Vary, who won the Grade 1 Ashland Stakes at his local track, Keeneland, in the spring of 2012. Karlovy Vary went on to make major contributions to Campbell's breeding program, as the dam of graded stakes winners Mean Mary and Bye Bye Melvin.

Campbell also campaigned graded stakes winners It's Tea Time and Ultra Brat.

Campbell was a member of The Jockey Club for more than three decades. The Thoroughbred breeder, who worked in the tobacco business and also made his fortune by investing in First Security Bank and what became Humana Hospitals, was also a noted philanthropist, contributing to multiple civic and educational projects in and around Lexington. He was a key factor in the creation of two of downtown Lexington's signature spaces, Triangle Park and Thoroughbred Park.

Arrangements are pending.