The sun is out and it's 70 degrees this morning, and man wouldn't it be great if we could just continue this way thru the Kentucky Derby on Saturday. Unfortunately, rain is in the forecast for parts of today, Friday, and Saturday, so we'll just have to take what's given. Let's just hope that when the weather turns wet, it's not nearly as bad as the ultimate soaking we all got on Derby Day last year.

First up is the Thurby tradition that Churchill started a few years ago. An 11-race card that starts at 12:45 ET is on tap, with a pair of ungraded turf stakes, the $115,000 Opening Verse (R8, 4:37) and $125,000 Unbridled Sidney (R10, 5:45) serving as co-features. It's a pretty solid card that the 40,000 or so expected here today should revel in.

Reminder that scratch time for tomorrow is 4 ET today, with one notable exception: the Ky. Oaks scratches aren't due until 9 a.m. tomorrow (Friday), along with scratches for the Ky. Derby. I stopped into the racing office this a.m. to once again check on whether there are any early SCR for the Oaks (the connections of the two AEs, DUNBAR ROAD and POINT OF HONOR, both are very eager to get in), but nope, nothing so far.

Here's the link to the Thursday scratches and changes:

https://www.churchilldowns.com/racing-wagering/toteboard/program-changes/