Cherie DeVaux becomes first woman to train Kentucky Derby winner

Cherie DeVaux broke the Kentucky Derby’s last glass ceiling as Golden Tempo surged from far back to catch Renegade and win the 152nd running by a neck, making DeVaux the first woman to train a Derby winner in the race’s 152-year history.

Golden Tempo covered the 1 1/4 miles in 2:02.27 over a fast track and paid off at 23-1 in the $5 million race at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky. Owned and bred by Phipps Stable and St. Elias Stable, the Curlin colt was ridden by Jose Ortiz, who delivered the kind of late drive Churchill Downs had expected when the horse dropped well off the pace before launching his run in the final yards.

For DeVaux, who launched her own stable in 2017, the victory was bigger than one photo finish. It made her only the second female trainer ever to win a Triple Crown race, following Jena Antonucci’s Belmont Stakes win with Arcangelo in 2023. After the race, DeVaux said, “I don’t have any words right now,” and added she was “so, so happy” for Golden Tempo, praising Ortiz for a “wonderful job” and a “masterful job” bringing the horse home.

The result was a milestone, but it was also a reality check for a sport still defined by scarcity at the top. No woman had trained a Kentucky Derby winner before DeVaux, and only one other woman has won any Triple Crown race. Golden Tempo’s victory came with the backing of established owners and breeders, a reminder that access to elite horses, major purses and the Derby stage remains concentrated in a narrow circle. The win changes the record book, but it does not by itself erase how rarely women are placed in position to compete for racing’s richest prizes.

Ortiz’s weekend doubled the significance of the result. He also rode Always a Runner to victory in the Kentucky Oaks the night before, giving Churchill Downs the same jockey for both marquee races and underlining how much of the sport still turns on a small group of elite riders and connections. For DeVaux, the breakthrough was undeniable. For horse racing, the question now is whether Golden Tempo marks a wider opening, or simply one historic exception.