Golden Tempo triumphed in the 152nd edition of the Grade 1, $5 million Kentucky Derby on Saturday evening, during an unusually cool yet ultimately bright day at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky.
Under the guidance of trainer Cherie DeVaux and the skillful riding of Jose Ortiz, Golden Tempo emerged victorious from a competitive field of 18 horses in the prestigious Run for the Roses.
The horse secured the Derby victory by narrowly defeating a late-charging Renegade — the pre-race favorite — at the finish line by a neck.
Ortiz is the younger sibling of Renegade’s jockey, Irad Ortiz Jr.
DeVaux, the trainer of Golden Tempo, has made history as the first woman to train a Kentucky Derby winner.
This was DeVaux’s inaugural Derby horse, making her the first female trainer to have a Derby horse since 2021.
Reagan Ingordo, Cherie DeVaux's stepdaughter, expressed her pride in her stepmother's achievement, saying 'I'm proud of you, I really am.'
