OK, that’s a bit of hyperbole, as I feel more like a weary eaglet than a soaring eagle at the moment. But I’m happy to report that I am in Lexington, and I’ve made my way to the media-credentialing office and then out to the Kentucky Horse Park and the press center there, and now I’m taking care of this bit of business before hitting the very welcome hay.

Pretty much everyone here is in the equestrian spirit. A spacious Alltech WEG souvenir gift shop greeted me at the Lexington airport. Even the various stores around town are offering equine-related merchandise, as you can see from this photo, shot in haste as we drove by:

The main lament around town is the fact that the hot, dry summer has done a number on the famed Kentucky bluegrass, which is now mostly brown. Not the lush Thoroughbred nursery that visitors were probably expecting