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Cherie DeVaux made history erstwhile Golden Tempo won nan Kentucky Derby astatine nan opening of May, becoming nan first female trainer to triumph nan first limb of nan Triple Crown.
DeVaux, 44, said that while she ne'er made her gender portion of her personality arsenic a equine trainer, it was nan 1 point she wanted to do arsenic a female.
"It was nan 1 point arsenic a female I wanted to do conscionable origin I thought it would beryllium – it’s a neat benchmark. There are 151 runnings pinch each men and past it’s me," DeVaux told Fox News Digital successful a caller interview.
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Cherie DeVaux, trainer of Golden Tempo, celebrates pinch nan trophy successful nan winner's circle aft nan 152nd Kentucky Derby astatine Churchill Downs successful Louisville, Kentucky, connected May 2, 2026. (Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
"I person ne'er made a guidelines that my gender was portion of my personality arsenic a trainer. I americium a equine trainer. We each activity really hard, male, female. So it wasn't connected nan heels of being a female."
For DeVaux, she was happy that nan speech astir a female winning nan Kentucky Derby could yet move on.
"I really was getting a spot – I don’t want to opportunity tired successful a bad way, but that mobility kept coming up, and it's for illustration it's clip for nan speech to move connected from it is really I felt. I quipped successful nan post-Derby interview, ‘Thank God I don’t person to reply that mobility anymore,’" DeVaux said.
The Saratoga Springs, New York, native, said that it’s an grant to beryllium personification that group look up to.
"It's an honor. And I clasp awesome respect pinch nan truth that I americium personification now that people, women, men, group look up to. That’s thing that I don’t suffer show of, and I’m conscionable retired doing my thing, and if that tin animate personification else, it’s a prize connected top," DeVaux said.
"I’ve ever felt for illustration we request to beryllium doing – we train horses, but we tin scope nan community, aliases others, conscionable by doing what we’re doing and conducting yourself, holding yourself accountable and to a higher standard."
GOLDEN TEMPO TO SKIP PREAKNESS STAKES, ENDING TRIPLE CROWN BID AS TRAINER CITES LONG-TERM HEALTH
Trainer Cherie DeVaux kisses nan trophy aft Golden Tempo won nan 152nd Kentucky Derby astatine Churchill Downs successful Louisville, Kentucky, connected May 2, 2026. (Abbie Parr/AP Photo)
DeVaux, astir a week and a half removed from nan Kentucky Derby win, said that things are yet starting to settee down.
"It's been overwhelming successful a really astonishing way," DeVaux said. "Been busy, doing a batch much extracurriculars different than moving our stable, which I support joking that erstwhile a convention wins a championship, they spell to Disney World, and we proceed to person a batch of horses to train. So, things are starting to quiet down a small spot and getting backmost to nan enjoyment of moving pinch our horses and training nan remainder of nan stable."
Going into nan race, Golden Tempo was 23-1 to triumph nan Kentucky Derby. DeVaux said she felt bully astir Golden Tempo but was tempering her expectations.
"I felt that Golden Tempo was going to tally a really bully race. We targeted nan race. We had a scheme pinch him. He checked each nan boxes. He sewage to nan title successful awesome order, but realistically, it's nan derby. And it's our first travel to nan derby, and there's a batch of horses successful it. It’s not a very bully chance you're going to win, right?" DeVaux said.
"So, conscionable realistic expectations that I put connected nan full business was let's person fun. Hopefully, Golden Tempo runs a really bully race. He comes pinch a tally and we're going to beryllium happy pinch that."
JORDON HUDSON, BILL BELICHICK TAKE IN CHURCHILL DOWNS DURING KENTUCKY DERBY WEEKEND
Trainer Cherie DeVaux stands extracurricular a barn aft a workout astatine Churchill Downs successful Louisville, Kentucky, connected April 27, 2026. (Charlie Riedel/AP Photo)
Golden Tempo’s moving style is described arsenic a heavy closer, which intends that he comes up to nan battalion from measurement retired of it. DeVaux said they person tried to usage blinkers to get him much engaged successful nan opening of nan race, but it’s conscionable not his style.
Golden Tempo stayed existent to shape during nan Kentucky Derby, arsenic he surged from nan backmost and into nan lead late. DeVaux was making judge he didn’t excavation himself excessively heavy of a spread pinch a slow start.
"Most of nan race, I was conscionable keeping an oculus connected him, seeing really nan title is unfolding successful beforehand of him. And location was a accelerated gait and a batch of those horses person not shown nan propensity to want to spell a mile and a quarter. Golden Tempo came closing astatine a mile and 3/16 successful nan Louisiana Derby. So, we were very assured successful his expertise to grip that distance," DeVaux said.
"When I picked him up, I had a emotion that he was going to make a really bully tally and person a bully showing of himself but had fixed himself truthful overmuch to do. So, arsenic he's picking them disconnected and he's coming, and he's coming and past erstwhile he sewage to Renegade is erstwhile it was like, 'Oh my goodness, this mightiness beryllium happening' to he sewage his caput successful beforehand and you know, nan remainder is history arsenic they say."
"I blacked retired nan past portion of it erstwhile he won because I conscionable couldn't judge that he won nan race. Like it was conscionable disbelief of I can't judge that really conscionable happened."
THE SURPRISING COST OF RENTING A HORSE STALL AT CHURCHILL DOWNS DURING THE KENTUCKY DERBY
Jockey Jose L. Ortiz celebrates aft riding Golden Tempo to triumph successful nan 152nd Kentucky Derby astatine Churchill Downs successful Louisville, Ky., connected May 2, 2026. (Abbie Parr/AP Photo)
Amid nan chaos aft winning, DeVaux said she hasn’t sat down and genuinely reflected connected it each but has spent immoderate clip reasoning astir her travel into history.
"In little moments, I find myself reasoning astir things that person happened successful my life wherever I questioned my way and it's not conscionable nan way to maine being a trainer. I was talking astir thing that happened successful my precocious 20s pinch a narration that went really badly, and I was telling my adjunct really astir it I thought if I could past that, I tin past anything," DeVaux said.
"I've had these moments on nan measurement that I could person been discouraged, I could person left, and alternatively I conscionable had nan fortitude to push forward."
The fortitude to push guardant has indirectly led to her Instagram messages being flooded pinch congratulations.
"There person been a batch and still muddling done nan inbox," DeVaux said. "I didn’t recognize really galore messages you tin really get connected Instagram. Flavor Flav is nan 1 that was jarring to maine a small spot erstwhile he saw I was successful New York, for illustration 'hey we person an event' which my small '90s kid successful maine was reasoning that was beautiful cool."
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Cherie DeVaux celebrates aft becoming nan first female trainer to triumph nan Kentucky Derby during nan 152nd moving astatine Churchill Downs successful Louisville, Kentucky, connected May 2, 2026. (Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
For DeVaux, she ne'er thought she would beryllium here.
"I've been overwhelmed really pinch for illustration nan guidance videos of conscionable Golden Tempo running, my guidance being a female and you cognize that's conscionable thing I ne'er would person thought would person touched anybody," DeVaux said.
"I'm conscionable doing my point cheering my equine on."
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Ryan Canfield is simply a integer accumulation adjunct for Fox News Digital.
