Churchill Downs hit by tornado

Like now, when in prime time they're showing a taped program instead of -- the weather?

 

TWC kicked ass with its live coverage of the Alabama tornadoes.

 

Security turning away reporters because of some loose horses:

http://abcnews.go.com/Sports/wireStory?id=13908719

 

Those hit during the day, when they had personnel in the building. It seems TWC automates everything in the evening now.

 

From Twitter, one of the destroyed barns ...

http://yfrog.com/kl2t6gj

 

Jesus. I love that they called that "roof damage."

 

They ran out of reporters to report on it.

 

CD reports all 1,400 horses on the grounds secured and accounted for.

 

Yes, there's already amateur video on YouTube of the tornado.

 

Longer video here:

there is at least one "shit" in there so be warned. See tons of debris in this one. Around the 6-minute mark is amazing.

 

What was absolutely amazing -- only word I can think of -- is that this storm was different than most storms we usually get in this area.

I took my son's team out to batting practice at a local batting cage when we hear sirens. At first, I'm thinking it's someone trying to break in to the storage facility across the street. It didn't sound like the civil siren. A parent had to notify me there was a tornado warning.

We were southwest of Churchill at the time. Skies were blue just to the north and south, but over us it was dark. I looked up at the cloud and could see some rotation but it was slow. 10-15 minutes later, Churchill was hit.

As much as I hate that it hit Churchill, I'm just thankful it didn't stay on land like the tornadoes in Alabama or Missouri. We had four hit. They weren't nearly as strong as the aforementioned tragedies nor did they really rip through residential areas. While some homes/apartments were damaged, it seems most of the damage was to non-residential areas.

And, while I hate to see Churchill get hit, I'm thankful we didn't get hit worse. Churchill will be back up and running tonight. From what I hear, they're expecting a decent-sized crowd.