For most of the 152nd Kentucky Derby, Golden Tempo was nowhere near the story. He was last in an eighteen-horse field, far behind the favorites. Then, in the stretch on Saturday, jockey Jose Ortiz asked the colt to run, and Golden Tempo surged from the back to win the race in a time of 2:02.27.
Golden Tempo, a 23-1 longshot, gave his trainer Cherie DeVaux a historic victory. She became the first female trainer to win the Kentucky Derby in its 152-year history. DeVaux was only the 18th woman ever to saddle a starter in the race. The previous best result by a female trainer was in 1992, when Shelley Riley finished second with Casual Lies.
The 44-year-old trainer from Saratoga Springs, New York, had taken an unhurried path to this moment. She worked as an assistant for other trainers before founding her own stable in 2018. Her most prominent victory before Saturday was the 2024 Breeders' Cup Mile.
In a dramatic finish, Jose Ortiz defeated his own older brother, Irad Ortiz Jr., who was riding Renegade. For Jose, who had ridden in eleven previous Kentucky Derbies without winning, the wait was finally over. A two-dollar bet on Golden Tempo returned nearly fifty dollars.
Golden Tempo is owned by Phipps Stable and St. Elias Stable. The winning connections received three point one million dollars from the five million dollar purse.