And on the eighth day, he rested.

There is a crowd of 157,770 here at Churchill Downs, the second-largest in the Derby's 134-year history.

The Derby is on deck! There are 60 minutes until the race (6:04 p.m. post), and here are the latest odds ($19,227,233 in win pool):

Here's the latest Derby odds as of 3:30 p.m, with $11,992,807 in the win pool:

Cowboy Cal backers must be feeling good right about now.

How's this for a Derby story?

Here are the Derby odds as of 1:45 p.m., with $7,888,729 in the win pool:

Minutes from post time of the fifth race, some early impressions on Derby Day from Churchill Downs.

OK, as you all know, I do not handicap for the Gazette. In fact, I'm not very good at it on my own. Like the (in)famous Harvey Park, I consider myself a horseplayer. Besides, we have two of the best in the business in Mark Cusano and Bill Heller.

Let's hope so. The skies opened up here at Churchill Downs early this afternoon and, for a while, the rain was coming down sideways. Wind, lightning, we had it all.