LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Golden Tempo surged down the stretch Saturday to capture the Kentucky Derby, making Cherie DeVaux the first woman to train a Derby winner, the opening leg of the Triple Crown.
Ridden by Jose Ortiz, Golden Tempo came from well back in the field to win the 1 1/8-mile race at odds of 23-1. Renegade, ridden by Irad Ortiz Jr., finished second, and long shot Ocelli took third.
“I don’t even have any words right now,” DeVaux said. “I just can’t. I’m so, so, so happy for Golden Tempo. Jose did a wonderful, masterful job of getting him there. He was so far out of it.”
DeVaux becomes just the second female trainer to win any Triple Crown race, following Jena Antonucci’s 2023 Belmont Stakes victory with Arcangelo. The Derby win came on DeVaux’s first opportunity in the race and arrives eight years after she started her own stable.
“I’m glad I can be a representative of all women everywhere — that we can do anything we set our minds to do,” she said, acknowledging that during the week she shifted from downplaying the significance of a potential first to embracing her role as a model for girls who may want to follow her path. She is the 18th woman to saddle a horse in the Kentucky Derby.
Ortiz, who has been a regular force at Churchill Downs, notched his first Kentucky Derby victory in his 11th attempt and added to a remarkable weekend that included a win in the Kentucky Oaks less than 24 hours earlier.
The Derby ran with 18 starters after Great White was a late scratch when he flipped and unseated his jockey; track veterinarians removed the long shot from the race. Great White had been added to the lineup Wednesday when Silent Tactic was ruled out with a foot injury.