- Date Of Birth: November 19, 1919
- Date Of Death: October 30, 2011
- State: Florida
Joseph L. Anderson (11/19/1919-10/30/2011). Joe Anderson, 91, passed away peacefully at his home in Miami, FL. Born in Washington DC, as a boy, Joe was an apprentice baker and studied drafting, but it was working as a groom at the stables on Washington’s Mall where he developed his life-long love of horses. He rode with First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt and at age 16, he left home and hitchhiked to Kentucky to ride racehorses. Joe began breaking yearlings and exercise riding for notable farms in the Lexington area. He was the regular exercise rider and assistant trainer to Billings, the horse second in the country to Citation in 1941. Joe started six races as a jockey before being drafted into the Army during World War II.
Joe graduated boot camp on Pearl Harbor Day and was shipped off to Alaska. For the next two years, he served as Company Baker and Staff Sergeant in Fairbanks and saw action on the Aleutian Islands defending Alaska from the Japanese. He returned to Fort Benning, Georgia to work as a combat instructor and was in the Honor Guard that accompanied the body of President Franklin Roosevelt from his home in Warm Springs, GA to the train that took him to lie in State at the Capitol Building. While attending a USO show, he fell in love with Mary Evelyn Scott, a soprano from Birmingham, Alabama.
Joe returned to Kentucky, having put on muscle during his army days, and was too heavy to be a jockey. He went on to forge a career as a trainer, owner, and breeder. He trained such great Stakes winners as Mighty Chief, Las Olas, and Wedlock, with whom he won the 1947 Kentucky Oaks. He witnessed racing history, when he was at Pimlico for the famous match race between Seabiscuit and War Admiral, and called many of racing’s hall of famers his friends.
Joe and Evelyn lived in Kentucky, Illinois, New York, and New Jersey, before settling in Florida. Joe was a stable manager, horse identifier, paddock judge, placing judge, and eventually promoted to steward. He was the State Steward for New Jersey, as well as steward at Hialeah and Gulfstream for over 30 years. In 1989, he was invited to preside over the Breeders Cup. Earning the respect of horseman all over the country for his knowledge and fairness, he was nicknamed “Judge” Anderson. When he retired in 1998, he was the oldest working steward in America. He enjoyed playing poker, bowling, traveling, watching football, and rooting for the Florida Marlins.
Joe is survived by Evelyn, his wife of 66 years, daughter Ginger Tatum, granddaughter Maryann Tobin and her husband, Nathaniel of Miami, FL, sister-in-law Madeleine Anderson of Silver Spring, MD, sister-in-law Ann Tatum and her husband, Bob of Birmingham, AL, and twelve nieces and nephews. On his 80th birthday, Joe rode his granddaughter’s horse, Sure Deal, who is the great-grandson of Equifox, a racehorse he rode 40 years ago. He leaves behind a legacy with horses that spans three generations. Joe’s life and work as a horseman, father, grandfather, brother-in-law, uncle, and friend are examples to all and he will be truly missed.
