(The crowd begins to assemble at the barn of trainer Bob Baffert on Sunday morning / All Photos by our own Holly M. Smith)

Editor’s Note:

Back in the day, the great Johnny Cash sang a rough-edged, Country-music ballad about Sunday mornings. It was not easy to listen to, but told a rather bleak story of how yesterday’s can come back to haunt on a Sunday sunrise. It became a hit and has become a staple of most that love the musical genre.

And, for some reason, it just popped into mind today — considering the kind of Sunday morning that we all have endured and not overly enjoyed today.

The chorus of the Classic tune went something like this:

“On the Sunday morning sidewalk
Wishing, Lord, that I was stoned
‘Cause there’s something in a Sunday
Makes a body feel alone
“There ain’t nothin’ short of dyin’
Half as lonesome as the sound
On the sleepin’ city sidewalks
Sunday mornin’ comin’ down”
I can’t tell you how Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert was feeling this Sunday morning. But, if I had my guess, these words are not far from the truth.
After all, it was Baffert’s job to stumble out to meet the press and somehow explain how his record-setting colt and the 147th winner of the Kentucky Derby — Medina Spirit — had come back with a positive test result following this year’s sun-splashed version.
After all, it was Baffert’s task to answer the questions of how this could happen after a historic and amazing event.
After all, it was Baffert’s responsibility to once again try to explain away why one of the horses in his barn and in his care had come up with a possible dirty test result.
There will be more to this developing story as the hours and days pass. There will be other samples to be tested. There will be resolve and patience to be tested. There will be much that will get tested — including the proven legal theory that all are innocent until proven guilty.
Until then, despite the mood that matched the rain, the horses still go to the track.
Until then, despite the despair that resembled the dirty gray clouds above, the sport and the show must go on.
And, here are a few looks from the backside of Churchill Downs this morning from our very own Holly M. Smith — who was right there this morning to help report and cover all the news that was happening about as fast and furious as horses in a 6-furlong sprint.
Try as she did, the crowd around the Baffert barn and the pouring rain showers made it difficult, if not impossible, to gain a spot where photography was easy — or possible. Then again, this morning was not easy for anyone.
Not easy to listen to; not easy to understand; not easy to stomach.
Here’s a few glimpses:
Medina Spirit at the Baffert Barn this a.m.:
Concert Tour, another Baffert horse who is being pointed to Saturday’s Preakness Stakes:
On a More Positive Note: Trainer Wesley Ward Had Some Turf Workers at Churchill Downs:
Campanelle: 
Bound for Nowhere:
Outadore: