Sports Illustrated’s Pat Forde on Golden Tempo’s ‘pretty dramatic’ win at the Kentucky Derby

How unusual is it for a horse to go from last place to winning?

“Not totally uncommon. It has happened before. Rich Strike did it. It’s a long race, and there’s almost always a fast pace, which sets up the closers. The closers are generally horses that start at or near the back of the pack and maintain their speed, as opposed to going at a high speed and then dying.

“I was shocked, though, when I saw the replay and how far behind he was. ‘Oh my, he’s at the half-mile point. He’s still not even in the screen. You can’t see him.’ It was pretty dramatic. It makes for unbelievable television.”

What do you consider the most interesting angle of this Derby?

“It’s a great question because there’s a lot, and that was the challenge of writing the game story… I think the single most interesting thing is that Cherie DeVaux became the first female to win, which is not a storyline she enjoys, but it’s the truth. Her life path is interesting. Most people at the racetrack have lived a life, and she’s certainly one of them. She’s very open about her emotions and how she handles the horse and everything. She lets people in.”

What makes Cherie DeVaux interesting?

“Her life could have gone in several other directions. She was a pre-med major and planned to work in medicine. She got to the point of taking organic chemistry or going to work at the racetrack, and the racetrack sounded more fun. So, she did. She grew up around horses. Her family was in harness racing. Her dad was a trainer/jockey. She’s one of ten kids. She was somewhat open about being a bit of a wild child coming out of college, a bit of a partier. Chuck Simon, the late trainer, put her on a straighter path.

“One of the great things about horse racing is that you meet people who have lived full lives. I cover a lot of college sports, and most of the athletes are fairly one-dimensional. You get a lot of multidimensional characters at the racetrack.”

How will her life change?

“Her life is changing as we speak. No doubt about it. That’s what happens when you win the Derby, especially when you win it the way they did. She had established herself in horse racing. She really earned her bona fides over the last couple of years, but this is a whole different level. This is now mainstream interest. When The Today Show, CNN, and who knows who else are calling, wanting you on the air, you’ve pushed yourself into a different realm, and people want to know everything about your life. It’ll be an entirely different existence for her.”

What’s your best guess? Will Golden Tempo run in the Preakness?

“I think it’s truly an unknown. It looks like literally nobody else from the Derby is running in the Preakness, which is a very bad sign for the Preakness and the state of the Triple Crown in its current iteration until they presumably space out the races more. But if you’re Golden Tempo’s people, if you’re Cherie DeVaux, I think you look at this two ways. Is this really the best thing for the horse? I don’t know. Secondly, if this race turns up soft and we don’t go, we’ve missed a good opportunity. I don’t think she’s as dead set against the Preakness as Bill Mott was last year with Sovereignty. But I don’t think she’s necessarily all in. I’m not sure the two ownership groups are all in either. I think it’s legitimately TBD.”

As someone who lives in Louisville, what did you think of the New York Times article about locals being upset with Churchill Downs and NBC?

“I think it’s true, and I think it’s a shame. I don’t like it at all. I think it hurts Louisville. There are times when I think Churchill Downs takes Louisville for granted in its quest for more profits. This is a prime example of that. They’ve priced a lot of common people out of going to the Oaks and Derby to begin with, and then they just killed the restaurant economy and upset a well-established timeline for how Derby weekend runs.

“I saw a whole lot of people leave before the Oaks, myself included. I don’t think there was a very good crowd actually there in person for that race because people said, ‘No. We’re not going to stay till 9 o’clock, then turn around and come back, and be there for 12 hours tomorrow.’”

Any chance this could revert to the way it was?

“Are they going to keep with the night race? Hell yes, because their ratings were huge, and the handle was big because you don’t have to be there to bet on the Oaks. They don’t care about what happens here locally. They care about the bottom line. They got exactly what they wanted. They got a record handle and a relatively massive TV number for a horse race that most people don’t have a lot of interest in. So, it doesn’t look like anything is going to change.”

Is the Derby in primetime inevitable?

“They have consistently said the Derby will not be run at night, but when you quadruple your audience for the Oaks by pushing it into primetime, TV may eventually say, ‘Nobody cares about tradition. Put the race at night.’ I’ll wait and see. They’ve said what they’ve said, but ratings sometimes speak louder than words. I wouldn’t say it’s inevitable, but I would say to keep your head on a swivel on that.”

Switching gears, who did you bet on for the Derby?

“Chief Wallabee was my primary horse, the two Brad Cox horses, Commandment and Further Ado, and Emerging Market, who did not emerge and submerged if anything.”

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