NEWNow you can listen to Pak Gazette articles!
Cherie DeVaux made history when Golden Tempo won the Kentucky Derby in early May, becoming the first 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 only thing she wanted to do as a woman.
“As a woman, it was the only thing I wanted to do because I thought it would be — it’s a good benchmark. There are 151 applications with all men and then it’s me,” DeVaux told Pak Gazette Digital in a recent interview.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON PakGazette.Com
Golden Tempo’s trainer Cherie DeVaux 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’ve never advocated that my gender was part of my identity as a trainer. I’m a horse trainer. We all work very hard, men and women. So it wasn’t immediately after being a woman.”
For DeVaux, she was happy that the conversation about a woman winning the Kentucky Derby could finally move forward.
“I was actually getting a little bit, I don’t want to say tired in a bad way, but that question kept coming up, and it’s like it was time for the conversation to move on from how I was feeling. I joked 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 it’s an honor to be someone people look up to.
“It’s an honor. And I have great respect for the fact that now I’m someone that people, women, men and people look up to. That’s something I don’t lose sight of, and I’m just doing my thing, and if that can inspire someone else, that’s an added bonus,” DeVaux said.
“I’ve always felt like we have to do it: we train horses, but we can reach out to the community, or others, just by doing what we’re doing and conducting ourselves, holding ourselves accountable and to a higher standard.”
GOLDEN TIME TO SKIP PREAKNESS BETS, ENDING TRIPLE CROWN BID WHILE COACH QUOTES LONG-TERM HEALTH
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 winning the Kentucky Derby, said things are finally starting to calm down.
“It’s been overwhelming in a really surprising way,” DeVaux said. “I’ve been busy doing a lot more extracurricular activities besides running our stable, and I keep joking that when a league wins a championship, they go to Disney World and we still have a lot of horses to train. So, things are starting to calm down a little and get back to enjoying working with our horses and training the rest of the stable.”
Coming into the race, Golden Tempo was 23-1 to win the Kentucky Derby. DeVaux said he felt good about Golden Tempo but was tempering his expectations.
“I felt like Golden Tempo was going to run a very good race. We were focused on the race. We had a plan with him. He checked all the boxes. He came into the race in great order, but realistically, it’s the derby. And it’s our first trip to the derby, and there are a lot of horses in it. It’s not a very good chance to win, is it?” DeVaux said.
“So the realistic expectations I put on the whole situation was to have fun. Hopefully, Golden Tempo will have a really good run. He’s coming on a streak and we’ll be happy with that.”
JORDON HUDSON AND BILL BELICHICK TAKE CHURCHILL DOWNS DURING KENTUCKY DERBY WEEKEND
Trainer Cherie DeVaux stands outside a barn after working out 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, meaning he approaches the group from far away. DeVaux said they’ve tried using blinders to get him more involved early in the race, but it’s just not their style.
Golden Tempo stayed true to form during the Kentucky Derby as he emerged from behind and took the lead late. DeVaux was making sure not to dig a hole too deep with a slow start.
“Most of the race, I was just keeping an eye on him, watching the race unfold in front of him. And there was a fast pace and a lot of those horses haven’t shown the propensity to want to go a mile and a quarter. Golden Tempo got close to a mile and 3/16 in the Louisiana Derby. So we had a lot of confidence in his ability to handle that distance,” DeVaux said.
“When I picked him up, I had a feeling he was going to have a really good run and put on a good showing of himself, but he had given himself a lot to do. So as he took them out and he came and he came and then when he got to Renegade, it was like, ‘Oh my God, this could be happening’ and he took the lead and, you know, the rest is history, as they say.”
“I crossed out the last part when he won because I just couldn’t believe he won the race. It was just disbelief, I can’t believe that actually happened.”
THE SURPRISING COST OF RENTING A HORSE IN CHURCHILL DOWNS DURING THE KENTUCKY DERBY
Jockey José L. Ortiz celebrates after riding Golden Tempo to victory in the 152nd Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky, on May 2, 2026. (Abbie Parr/AP Photo)
Amid the chaos after winning, DeVaux said he didn’t really sit back and reflect on it all, but instead spent some time thinking about his journey into history.
“In short moments, I find myself thinking about things that happened in my life where I questioned my path and it’s not just the path to becoming a coach. I was talking about something that happened when I was in my twenties in a relationship that went very bad, and I was telling my assistant about it. I actually thought if I could survive that, I could survive anything,” DeVaux said.
“I’ve had these moments along the way where I could have gotten discouraged, I could have walked away, and instead I had the strength to keep going.”
The strength to move forward has indirectly led to his Instagram messages being flooded with congratulations.
“There’s been a lot of stuff still jumbled up in the inbox,” DeVaux said. “I didn’t realize how many messages you can actually get on Instagram. Flavor Flav is the one that shocked me a little bit when he saw I was in New York, like ‘hey, we have an event’ that the little ’90s kid in me thought was cool.”
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE Pak Gazette APP
Cherie DeVaux celebrates after becoming the first 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, he never thought he would be here.
“I’ve been really overwhelmed with the reaction videos of Golden Tempo running, my reaction being a woman and you know, that’s something I never would have thought would have touched anyone,” DeVaux said.
“I’m just doing my thing encouraging my horse.”
