No Breakfast?

- As long as I can remember, ESPN has has a one hour show entitled Breakfast at Churchill Downs on Derby morning. Nothing earth-shattering, but just a little taste of what's going on with a few interviews and features. But it's not on today. A little Derby tradition gone by the boards.

However, I see that ESPN2 comes on at 11 from Churchill - that's first race post-time - and then ESPN picks up coverage from noon all the way until five! That even overlaps an hour with NBC's coverage. Seems funny to me that ESPN can clear six hours - five on the main network - just to cover the preliminaries to an event it doesn't even carry, yet it can't - or won't - devote the time on ESPN for the Friday Breeders' Cup races, sticking them on ESPN2 instead. Oh well.

Don't know what they're going to do for six hours, but, as a reader pointed out yesterday, Jerry Bailey is priceless, and who knows what will come out of his mouth during that time? I'm still smiling over his analysis of the main track based on how much or how little Larry Jones was sinking into it late yesterday.

Taking a look at the Doppler radar, it seems as if the rain has moved out of the Louisville area, and the forecast calls for only the possibility of an isolated thunderstorm for the afternoon. So you gotta figure that the track will be at least close to being fast by Derby post time if past years are any indication.

- A little morning reading for you - if you missed Dick Jerardi's piece on Dutrow in the Philly Inquirer on Wednesday, it's certainly worth checking out, and thanks to reader Case for sending it along. We hope that Dutrow won't be committing any sins today.

- One person's idea of a real mint julep.

- Today in Derby history. And no, I don't remember 1952.

- Larry Jones now says: "The only reason Eight Belles is running in the Derby was because we felt like we had a really good shot of winning the Oaks without her." [Wash Post] Huh? Does Rick Porter know that?