FRED STONE

"It was the day after Genuine Risk had won the 1980 Kentucky Derby, where I had been a guest of Governor John Y. Brown and his wife, Phyllis George. Now I was to sign a special edition of this “Seattle Slew” print for the governor’s guests at his breakfast at his home in Frankfort, Kentucky. The guest list included many very prominent people from the political, entertainment, and sports world. Muhammad Ali was one of the guests. All of the guests stood patiently in line, waiting for me to sign their prints, everyone that is, except Mohammed Ali. He was too busy chasing his two little girls around the yard.

The next day, I boarded a plane for home. After the plane had cleared the gate, we were told that we had to return to the terminal. When we got back to the gate, a state trooper came on board and asked that Fred Stone accompany him back into the terminal. A second trooper was waiting there with a print in his hand. He explained that Governor Brown had given them orders to have me sign the print for Muhammad Ali.

If someone had ever told me this story, I would not have believed him. Back in 1980, the rules for tiny Blue Grass Field must have been a lot more lax than they are today."