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Cherie DeVaux made history when Golden Tempo won the Kentucky Derby at the beginning of May, becoming the first female trainer to win the first leg of the Triple Crown.
DeVaux, 44, said that while she never made her gender part of her identity as a horse trainer, it was the one thing she wanted to do as a female.
“It was the one thing as a female I wanted to do just cause I thought it would be – it’s a neat benchmark. There are 151 runnings with all men and then it’s me,” DeVaux told Fox News Digital in a recent interview.
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Cherie DeVaux, trainer of Golden Tempo, celebrates with the trophy in the winner’s circle after the 152nd Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky, on May 2, 2026. (Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
“I have never made a stand that my gender was part of my identity as a trainer. I am a horse trainer. We all work really hard, male, female. So it wasn’t on the heels of being a female.”
For DeVaux, she was happy that the conversation about a female winning the Kentucky Derby could finally move on.
“I actually was getting a bit – I don’t want to say tired in a bad way, but that question kept coming up, and it’s like it’s time for the conversation to move on from it is how I felt. I quipped in the post-Derby interview, ‘Thank God I don’t have to answer that question anymore,’” DeVaux said.
The Saratoga Springs, New York, native, said that it’s an honor to be someone that people look up to.
“It’s an honor. And I hold great respect with the fact that I am somebody now that people, women, men, people look up to. That’s something that I don’t lose sight of, and I’m just out doing my thing, and if that can inspire somebody else, it’s a bonus on top,” DeVaux said.
“I’ve always felt like we need to be doing – we train horses, but we can reach the community, or others, just by doing what we’re doing and conducting yourself, holding yourself accountable and to a higher standard.”
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Trainer Cherie DeVaux kisses the trophy after Golden Tempo won the 152nd Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky, on May 2, 2026. (Abbie Parr/AP Photo)
DeVaux, about a week and a half removed from the Kentucky Derby win, said that things are finally starting to settle down.
“It’s been overwhelming in a really amazing way,” DeVaux said. “Been busy, doing a lot more extracurriculars other than running our stable, which I keep joking that when a league wins a championship, they go to Disney World, and we continue to have a lot of horses to train. So, things are starting to quiet down a little bit and getting back to the enjoyment of working with our horses and training the rest of the stable.”
Going into the race, Golden Tempo was 23-1 to win the Kentucky Derby. DeVaux said she felt good about Golden Tempo but was tempering her expectations.
“I felt that Golden Tempo was going to run a really good race. We targeted the race. We had a plan with him. He checked all the boxes. He got to the race in great order, but realistically, it’s the derby. And it’s our first trip to the derby, and there’s a lot of horses in it. It’s not a very good chance you’re going to win, right?” DeVaux said.
“So, just realistic expectations that I put on the whole situation was let’s have fun. Hopefully, Golden Tempo runs a really good race. He comes with a run and we’re going to be happy with that.”
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Trainer Cherie DeVaux stands outside a barn after a workout at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky, on April 27, 2026. (Charlie Riedel/AP Photo)
Golden Tempo’s running style is described as a deep closer, which means that he comes up to the pack from way out of it. DeVaux said they have tried to use blinkers to get him more engaged in the beginning of the race, but it’s just not his style.
Golden Tempo stayed true to form during the Kentucky Derby, as he surged from the back and into the lead late. DeVaux was making sure he didn’t dig himself too deep of a hole with a slow start.
“Most of the race, I was just keeping an eye on him, seeing how the race is unfolding in front of him. And there was a fast pace and a lot of those horses have not shown the propensity to want to go a mile and a quarter. Golden Tempo came closing at a mile and 3/16 in the Louisiana Derby. So, we were very confident in his ability to handle that distance,” DeVaux said.
“When I picked him up, I had a feeling that he was going to make a really good run and have a good showing of himself but had given himself so much to do. So, as he’s picking them off and he’s coming, and he’s coming and then when he got to Renegade is when it was like, ‘Oh my goodness, this might be happening’ to he got his head in front and you know, the rest is history as they say.”
“I blacked out the last part of it when he won because I just couldn’t believe that he won the race. Like it was just disbelief of I can’t believe that really just happened.”
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Jockey Jose L. Ortiz celebrates after riding Golden Tempo to victory in the 152nd Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky., on May 2, 2026. (Abbie Parr/AP Photo)
Amid the chaos after winning, DeVaux said she hasn’t sat down and truly reflected on it all but has spent some time thinking about her journey into history.
“In brief moments, I find myself thinking about things that have happened in my life where I questioned my path and it’s not just the path to me being a trainer. I was talking about something that happened in my late 20s with a relationship that went really badly, and I was telling my assistant actually about it I thought if I could survive that, I can survive anything,” DeVaux said.
“I’ve had these moments along the way that I could have been discouraged, I could have left, and instead I just had the fortitude to push forward.”
The fortitude to push forward has indirectly led to her Instagram messages being flooded with congratulations.
“There have been a lot and still muddling through the inbox,” DeVaux said. “I didn’t realize how many messages you can really get on Instagram. Flavor Flav is the one that was jarring to me a little bit when he saw I was in New York, like ‘hey we have an event’ which my little ’90s child in me was thinking that was pretty cool.”
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Cherie DeVaux celebrates after becoming the first female trainer to win the Kentucky Derby during the 152nd running at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky, on May 2, 2026. (Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
For DeVaux, she never thought she would be here.
“I’ve been overwhelmed really with like the reaction videos of just Golden Tempo running, my reaction being a woman and you know that’s just something I never would have thought would have touched anybody,” DeVaux said.
“I’m just doing my thing cheering my horse on.”
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