Golden Tempo Surges from 23-1 Odds to Win 152nd Kentucky Derby; Cherie DeVaux Makes History as First Female Trainer

In a stunning upset at Churchill Downs, Golden Tempo blazed from the back of the pack to win the 152nd Kentucky Derby on Saturday, with jockey Jose Ortiz piloting the 23-1 longshot past morning-line favorite Renegade at the wire. But the real headline belonged to trainer Cherie DeVaux, who became the first female trainer ever to win the Kentucky Derby—a historic breakthrough in one of horse racing's most prestigious events. "He was so far out of it," DeVaux said after the improbable victory, which came just a day after Ortiz also won the Kentucky Oaks aboard Always a Runner.

The race itself delivered drama from the start. A five-minute delay occurred when Great White bucked his rider before the gates closed, forcing the field to be reshuffled and re-entered into the gate. Once the race was underway, So Happy set the early pace before Six Speed and Danon Bourbon took over for much of the stretch. Ocelli, a stunning 70-1 also-eligible horse that had gotten into the field during the week, briefly seized the lead down the final straight at 50-1 morning-line odds—only to be run down by Golden Tempo's powerful closing charge. The third-place finish was the best performance by an also-eligible horse at the Derby in recent memory.

The victory marked a historic second for the Ortiz brothers' rivalry at the Derby. Jose Ortiz won aboard Golden Tempo while his brother Irad Ortiz Jr. rode the favorite Renegade, which had to settle for second place. That result stung owner Mike Repole, a brash billionaire who is now 0 for 9 in Kentucky Derby victories (not counting three scratches), extending his frustrating drought in the opening leg of the Triple Crown. DeVaux's triumph also comes less than three years after trainer Jena Antonucci won the 2023 Belmont Stakes with Arcangelo, making DeVaux only the second female trainer to capture a Triple Crown race. "I'm glad that I can be a representative of all women everywhere," DeVaux said on the NBC broadcast. "That we can do anything we set our minds to."

Despite uncharacteristically frigid conditions—with a high of just 59 degrees making it one of the coldest Derby days since 1989—Churchill Downs still drew a solid crowd of 150,415 spectators to witness the historic upset and the rare sight of a longshot and a woman trainer etching their names into the Derby record books.