DeVaux-trained Golden Tempo beats the chances to provide jockey Jose Ortiz a win within the derby for the primary time.
Revealed On 3 Could 2026
With the chances stacked closely in opposition to him, Golden Tempo stormed to an unbelievable victory on the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs, making coach Cherie DeVaux the primary girl to saddle the winner of essentially the most well-known horse race in america.
Despatched off on the odds of 24-1 within the race on Saturday, Golden Tempo broke slowly below jockey Jose Ortiz and trailed the 18-horse discipline earlier than threading via site visitors and unleashing a late cost from the surface to assert the “Run for the Roses” by a neck on a brisk day in Louisville, Kentucky.
Renegade, the 5-1 cofavourite ridden by Ortiz’s brother Irad Ortiz Jr, completed second whereas 70-1 longshot Ocelli was third in entrance of a crowd of 150,415.
DeVaux burst into tears of pleasure and celebrated along with her household because the feat etched her identify in historical past.
Right here’s what we learn about DeVaux, the primary feminine coach to win the Kentucky Derby:
Who’s Cherie DeVaux?
The 44-year-old from Saratoga Springs, New York, is a thoroughbred coach primarily based in Kentucky who grew up round horses and has a household historical past within the sport.
In a bid to keep away from burnout as an assistant coach, she took an opportunity on going solo and obtained her coaching licence in 2018. The transfer paid off as she earned her first win in 2019 on simply her twenty ninth begin.
Since then, she has racked up greater than 300 victories, together with 21 wins in 2026 earlier than the derby.
What’s the Kentucky Derby?
The Kentucky Derby is the opening leg of the Triple Crown. The Preakness Stakes is subsequent up on Could 16 earlier than the sequence concludes with the Belmont Stakes on June 6.
The race usually has 20 thoroughbreds however went on with simply 18 horses on Saturday after two have been scratched earlier within the week.
What did DeVaux say after the win?
DeVaux joined Jena Antonucci because the second girl to coach the winner of a Triple Crown race. She was simply the 18th girl to saddle a horse within the derby in its 152-year historical past, and the gravity of the scenario got here into focus for her days earlier when she noticed a woman on the backstretch and realised the impression she is making.
“It truly is an honour to have the ability to be that particular person for different ladies or different little women to look as much as,” DeVaux mentioned. “You’ll be able to dream massive, and you’ll pivot. You’ll be able to come from one place and make your self part of historical past.”
DeVaux, practically speechless after making that historical past, mentioned she hoped the victory would resonate past racing.
“I’m glad I will be consultant of ladies in all places,” she mentioned, crediting her husband with urging her to pursue her dream of coaching when she was at a profession crossroads in 2017.
“We are able to do something we set our minds to,” she mentioned.
DeVaux credit rising up with seven brothers and two sisters for her toughness. After profitable the derby on her first attempt eight years after beginning her personal steady, she thanked her husband for uplifting her to provide it an opportunity.
“I didn’t imagine,” DeVaux mentioned. “I began my profession right here 22 years in the past as a bright-eyed, bushy-tailed train rider. And I might not imagine that I might be sitting up right here right this moment. By no means in my life did I believe I might.”
