The owners and trainer of 2005 Preakness and Belmont Stakes (both gr. I) winner Afleet Alex will be honored at the Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation’s annual gala celebration, the Lemon Ball Jan. 17, 2009.

The event, which will feature an awards presentation, live auction, and dancing, will take place from 7 p.m. to 12 a.m. at the Philadelphia Marriott.

As part of Afleet Alex’s bid for the Triple Crown, his ownership group Cash is King and trainer Tim Ritchey partnered with a charity appropriately entitled Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation for Childhood Cancer.

Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation emerged from the front yard lemonade stand of cancer patient Alexandra “Alex�?Scott (1996-2004). At the age of 4, Alex announced that she wanted to hold a lemonade stand to raise money to help find a cure for all children with cancer. To date, Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation has raised more than $25 million and has funded more than 80 research projects nationally.

Through the efforts of Afleet Alex’s owners and trainer, Alex’s Lemonade Stands were present at all three Triple Crown races in 2005, garnering national attention for the fight against childhood cancer.

To this day, the horse’s connections continue to support Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation.

Please visit www.thelemonball.com for more information about the Jan. 17 event. For more infomation on Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation, visit www.alexslemonade.org/lemonade_stand.php.