Golden Tempo makes DeVaux first female trainer to win Kentucky Derby - ESPN

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Cherie DeVaux made history Saturday, becoming the first woman to train the winner of the Kentucky Derby, as Golden Tempo rallied from the back of the pack and charged down the stretch to win the biggest event in horse racing.

DeVaux is just the second female trainer to win a Triple Crown race after Jena Antonucci won with Arcangelo in the 2023 Belmont Stakes. She won the Derby in her first opportunity, eight years after 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 1¼-mile race in 2:02.27 at odds of 23-1. Golden Tempo paid $48.24 to win.

Renegade was a neck back in second, with Jose's brother Irad Ortiz Jr. aboard. 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 embracing her position as 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 to,» DeVaux said.

Jose 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 Jose Ortiz's remarkable ride.