Golden Tempo takes the Kentucky Derby as Cherie DeVaux becomes the 1st woman to train its winner

LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- Cherie DeVaux made history on Saturday as the first woman to train the winner of the Kentucky Derby, as Golden Tempo charged from the back of the pack and charged down the stretch to get to the finish line first in the biggest event in horse racing.

DeVaux is just the second female trainer to win any Triple Crown race after Jena Antonucci won with Arcangelo in the 2023 Belmont Stakes. She won the Derby in her first opportunity, eight years since starting her own stable.

Ridden by Jose Ortiz and with a crowd of more than 100,000 watching and roaring at Churchill Downs, Golden Tempo passed favorite Renegade just before the wire to win the 1 1/4-mile race in 2:02.27 at odds of 23-1. Renegade was second, with brother Irad Ortiz Jr. aboard, and long shot Ocelli was third.

“I don’t even have any words right now,” DeVaux said. “I just can’t. Just so, so, so happy for Golden Tempo. Jose did a wonderful job, a masterful job of getting him there. He was so far out of it.”

During the week, DeVaux shifted from downplaying what it would mean to be the first woman to train a Derby winner to understanding she’s a role model to girls who might want to follow in her footsteps someday. She’s just the 18th woman to saddle a horse in the Kentucky Derby.

“I’m glad I can be a representative of all women everywhere that we can do anything we set our minds do,” DeVaux said.

Ortiz showed off the riding prowess that has made him so successful at Churchill Downs in recent days, winning the Derby for the first time in his 11th try. It came a little under 24 hours since he also won the Kentucky Oaks, the top race for 3-year-old fillies.

His parents were there to witness Ortiz’s remarkable ride.