The 38-day Churchill spring meet featuring the 144th Kentucky Derby opens tonight with a 10-race Downs After Dark card (first post, 6 ET). Once again it's chilly around here, with temps expected to dip into the low 50s after the sun goes down. There's a brand-new setup around here with the reconfigured parking lots and entrance gates (replete with heavy security), so if you're coming out tonight, make sure to give yourself plenty of extra time. Patience will go a long way as even many of the employees aren't quite sure of what's going on.

The opening feature is the $100k William Walker (R9) for 3yo turf sprinters, and it's not a bad little heat. An original field of 10 has scratched down to 8, although all of the favorites are still in.

Fast and firm all night ... here are the early SCR: R1-(1); R4-(3, 12); R9-(6, 8); R10-(6).