Watch trainer Cherie DeVaux react to Golden Tempo's Derby stretch run

Steve Gardner, USA TODAYSun, May 3, 2026 at 1:24 PM UTC

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At the top of the stretch in the 152nd Kentucky Derby, things didn't look great for 23-1 longshot Golden Tempo.

But trainer Cherie DeVaux never gave up hope.

As jockey Jose Ortiz guided her horse out of traffic and to the outside, she could sense something special was happening. "Come on, Jose!" she screamed.

And when Golden Tempo picked up the tempo and started gaining ground on the leaders, the possibility set in.

"Oh my God! OH MY GOD!!"

Beating morning-line favorite Renegade by a neck, Golden Tempo made DeVaux the first woman to train a Kentucky Derby winner in the storied history of the race.

DeVaux's reaction was priceless.

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When the situation seemed dire, she sunk her head onto the railing in front of her. But as Ortiz made his move, she pulled herself forward as her feet came off the ground and started kicking the podium, almost in rhythm with the horse's gallops.

Then when Golden Tempo did win, DeVaux broke down for a brief moment before the celebratory hugs began.

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It was a magical and historic moment.

Especially when DeVaux was able to share it on the infield with Ortiz and her champion horse.

Only 19 starters in Derby history have been trained by women. Before DeVaux, the closest a woman had come to the winner's circle was Shelley Riley, who finished second with Casual Lies in 1992.

"By doing this, I am inspiring other young women, and that, I am proud of," DeVaux said. "Women – young, old, whatever age – can look up to me and say, 'If she can do it, I can do it.'"

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trainer Cherie DeVaux reacts to Golden Tempo winning Kentucky Derby

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