The longest day

LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- My apologies for not blogging the past two days from Derby City, but my old laptop has been very persnickety about getting to the Web. Technology can be an evil demon.

We're almost up to the eighth race, meaning two from the Derby, but there will be a wait of more than two hours before the big one. There's no simulcasting here today, so boredom becomes a tyrant and many turn to drink. As a devoted reporter, only coffee will pass through my lips until all business is done.

Good news for me: Despite high winds and the possibility of tornados (none materialized), none of the discarded mattresses near my motel moved Friday night, when 2 to 3 inches of rain fell in the Louisville metropolitan area. Churchill Downs' main track dries so well that the track was upgraded from sloppy yesterday to fast by the second race.