Kentucky Derby 2012: Start Time, Weather Sure to Be Major Factor in Main Event

Stormy weather has yet again thrown an air of uncertainty around the excitement leading up to the Kentucky Derby.

As of now, the 138th running is expected to commence at 6:24 p.m. ET, but thanks to an overnight storm, there could be a wrench thrown into the pre-race festivities. More than an inch of rain fell on the surrounding Churchill Downs area on Friday night, according to the Huffington Post, leaving behind a sloppy track.

As a result, morning training was canceled. There's still hope, however, that sunny skies will emerge and will keep everything for the rest of the day right on track.

According to the National Weather Service, cloudy skies are expected with a 50 percent chance of rain—certainly not music to the ears of the hundreds of thousands of fans expected to be in attendance for this year's race. The New York Times' Alex Brown reports that there was lightning in the area Saturday morning.

Butch Lehr, who leads the Churchill Downs maintenance crew, still hopes that by the time the race rolls around, the track will be nice and fast. The cancellation of morning training shouldn't really impact most of the horses in contention, anyway, because the goal is to stay quiet and relaxed on the day of the main event.

The weather in Louisville is often expected to be warm and sunny in early May, hence the decision to hold the race on the first Saturday of the month—but stormy skies aren't all too uncommon on Derby Day, according to the Lexington Herald-Leader's Greg Kocher. In all 137 Kentucky Derby's in history, 63 of them have been afflicted by rain at some point. The average temperature in early May hovers around 75 degrees, though it will be considerably higher for this year's Derby. Hopefully, the 84-degree temperatures will dry out any remaining moisture from the heavy rainfall the night before.

More good news: A Derby has never been cancelled because of weather. Though the horses and the observers might be inconvenienced by the mud, the start time should hold strong as the race gets closer.