His breeder, John Silvertand, was diagnosed with colon cancer nearly three years ago, shortly after Afleet Alex was born, and given just three months to live. But the 60-year-old former Royal Air Force pilot is instead driving with his family from Lake Worth, Fla., to Louisville this week to attend the Derby as a guest of the owners, collectively known as Cash Is King Stable.

“The horse keeps me going,” Silvertand told the Associated Press this week by telephone before his departure. “I truly believe he’s helping me in my battle.”

Afleet Alex is helping to fight cancer in another way, thanks to the generosity of his owners and a young girl’s courageous battle against the disease.

Alexandra “Alex” Scott was diagnosed with an aggressive form of childhood cancer called neuroblastoma shortly before her first birthday.

Daniel P. Derella / AP Anita Saint Clair, left, and Liz Scott wait for customers at Alex's Lemonade Stand to benefit pediatric cancer research at Churchill Downs on Tuesday.

She ultimately lost her fight against the disease, but not before planting a seed that gives new meaning to the saying, “When life hands you lemons, make lemonade.”

At the tender age of 4, Alex decided to raise money to give to the hospital where she was undergoing cancer treatment. With her parents, Jay and Liz, she came up with a tried-and-true approach: A lemonade stand in the front yard.

The stand was a success, not just for the 50 cent sales that soon turned into more than $2,000 but for the word that soon spread about her inspirational fight. After local media reports on her fundraising drive, similar stands popped up around the country.

Alex died last year Aug. 1 at the age of 8, but not before seeing the fund that she started with her little lemonade stand grow into the Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation. (http://www.alexslemonade.com/) To date, the foundation established by her parents has raised more than $1.6 million.

Alex didn’t live long enough to meet Afleet Alex (so named because three of the owners have children named Alex), but after reading about her story the colt’s owners phoned the Scotts and said they would like to donate a portion of the horse’s winnings to her cause. So far, that has amounted to about $5,000 for each of Alex’s six victories.

The colt’s owners also have worked with the foundation sell special T-shirts, hats and buttons bearing Afleet Alex’s likeness and bearing the words, “Courage. Strength. Heart,” including setting up the impromptu sawhorse shop outside the colt’s barn.

Ed Reinke / AP Tim Ritchey, who looks a little like a young Mel Brooks, is an accomplished but little-known trainer who has toiled in relative anonymity in the Midwest and mid-Atlantic.

The goodwill generated by owners’ involvement in Alex’s cause has grown over the months as Afleet Alex has established himself as one of the nation’s top 3-year-old horses. By this week, the feeling had grown so intense that the 44-year-old Lerro could only shake his head in wonder at the strange confluence of good fortune and a good cause.

In addition to thinking about the implications of karma, the 44-year-old real estate developer and restaurateur, said he and his friends had gained a fuller appreciation for what they are experiencing from their interaction with Silvertand, the Scotts and other cancer patients and survivors who have rallied around them and their horse.

“It could be over in a minute and we have to cherish every moment,” he said.