For 152 years, no woman had ever trained the winner of the Kentucky Derby. On Saturday afternoon at Churchill Downs, Cherie DeVaux changed that forever.
Golden Tempo, sent off at 23-1 odds, broke slowly under jockey Jose Ortiz and trailed the 18-horse field before threading through traffic and unleashing a late charge from the outside to claim the Run for the Roses by a neck, making DeVaux the first female trainer ever to win America’s most celebrated horse race. Renegade, the 5-1 co-favorite ridden by Jose’s brother Irad Ortiz Jr., finished second. 70-1 longshot Ocelli took third.
The victory was jaw-dropping in its execution. Golden Tempo charged from dead last after three-quarters of a mile, weaving through the pack before breaking clear along the outside to cross the finish line at a winning time of 2:02.27. DeVaux, watching from the rail, was overcome. “I don’t even have any words right now,” she said moments after the finish. “I’m just so, so happy for Golden Tempo.”
A Career Built on Belief
A native of Saratoga Springs, New York, DeVaux comes from a racing family — though of the harness variety rather than Thoroughbreds. Her father, Adrian “Butch” DeVaux, operated a stable of Standardbreds, and her brothers Kenny and Jimmy carved out their own names in the industry.
Her path to Churchill Downs was anything but direct. Although DeVaux was involved with horses in her youth, she appeared bound for a career in medicine, studying pre-med in Florida and later in New York. A detour came when she needed work and her mother pointed her toward a nearby barn. “All you have to do is walk the horses,” DeVaux recalled. “And that’s how I started. And then I thought, ‘I can ride them.'”
The pivot into training came through mentorship. Trainer Chuck Simon — who had originally worked for DeVaux’s father — took her under his wing as an assistant trainer, steering her away from what she called “the party life.” From Simon’s stable, she moved on to work under Hall of Fame trainer Chad Brown, building the expertise that would eventually support her decision to go out on her own.
The final push came from her husband, David Ingordo, a bloodstock agent who purchases thoroughbreds for major buyers. In the summer of 2017, DeVaux was at a crossroads. “He told me that I owed it to myself to at least try, and he had the faith in me, and he saw what I didn’t see and believed in me,” she said. “He just told me, ‘Just give it three years.'”
DeVaux obtained her training license in 2018 and earned her first win in 2019 on just her 29th start. She has since accumulated more than 300 victories and more than $32 million in career earnings. Saturday was her first Kentucky Derby entry.
The Race Within the Race
The storylines running through the 152nd Kentucky Derby extended well beyond the winner’s circle. Golden Tempo is the son of two-time Horse of the Year Curlin, and had shown promise in the Louisiana Derby and Risen Star Stakes earlier in the year, though he was not considered a serious Derby contender heading into Saturday.
Jose Ortiz, who guided Golden Tempo through the chaos of the stretch run, was already riding the high of winning the previous day’s Kentucky Oaks. His finish in first place meant he edged out his own brother. “I want him to win the Derby, of course,” Jose said after the race. “I know it’s his dream as well. But it happened that way. Today’s my day and Golden Tempo’s day.”
DeVaux is just the 18th woman to saddle a horse in the Kentucky Derby, and is now the second female trainer ever to win a Triple Crown race, after Jena Antonucci with Arcangelo in the 2023 Belmont Stakes.
A Record Audience Watches History
The moment was not lost on viewers at home. The 152nd Kentucky Derby averaged 19.6 million viewers on NBC and Peacock, making it the most-watched Kentucky Derby on record, with viewership peaking at approximately 24.4 million during Golden Tempo’s come-from-behind surge. That figure represents an 11% increase over 2025 and is NBC’s largest audience for a Saturday program since the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics earlier this year.
What Comes Next
DeVaux did not commit Golden Tempo to the Preakness Stakes on May 16, saying she would let the horse decide. “We’re gonna let him decide that,” she said.
Whether Golden Tempo runs at Pimlico or not, DeVaux’s place in the sport is already secured. “Being a woman or my gender has never really crossed my mind in this,” DeVaux said at her post-race press conference. “The thing that really has become apparent to me is not everyone has the same constitution I have mentally. It really is an honor to be that person for other women or other little girls to look up to. You can dream big and you can pivot, you can come from one place and make yourself a part of history.”
DeVaux began her career at Churchill Downs 22 years ago as an exercise rider. On Saturday, she returned as its most historic trainer.
