Flatter: DeVaux’s Ky. Derby win echoes with racing women

Louisville, Ky.

There were happy tears flowing after Golden Tempo won Kentucky Derby 2026. After Cherie DeVaux won it. The first woman to train the winner of America’s greatest race won it.

“I’m just glad I don’t have to answer that question anymore,” she said after Golden Tempo’s thrilling rally to the 23-1 upset that made history.

DeVaux makes history; Golden Tempo wins Derby.

That line was greeted with cheers and applause in the post-race news conference. It’s about damned time, right? Another barrier was crushed Saturday evening. And it was a deafeningly joyful noise.

“I’m so happy that a woman finally broke that particular glass ceiling,” said Kate Tweedy, whose mother owned 1973 Triple Crown legend Secretariat. “Mom would be high-fiving her and feeling very proud.”

It was a multigenerational celebration, to be sure, even if it took a while for many in Churchill Downs’ annual capacity crowd to realize it. It was not like DeVaux could do an end-zone dance at the finish line.

Even after the race and maybe before it all sinks in during the coming days and weeks, DeVaux was matter of fact about her achievement.

“I’m so appreciative of the opportunity,” she said. “I’ve known both the Phippses and the Violas (the breeder-owners), and we’ve always had a great friendship and camaraderie, and it’s just so special to be able to share this.”

For jockey José Ortiz, it was his first Kentucky Derby victory just as it was his first Grade 1 Kentucky Oaks win the night before. He became the second rider in three years to win both races. And the first Ortiz, whose brother Irad Ortiz Jr. finished second on Renegade.

“It’s a lot,” said Vilma Morales, the Ortizes' mother. “We are so happy and grateful with God. To finish first and second in this kind of race is really, really it’s a dream come true. We don’t have words for a day like today.”

Irad’s 11-year-old daughter, Sarai, who did not try to hold back her tears, stood in the arms of her grandmother and thought about what this all meant for her dad and her uncle. And for women.

“No words,” she said. “I’m just proud of both of them.”

It was a big enough deal for the family that young Sarai probably could not wrap her arms around DeVaux’s groundbreaking achievement. But one day, an older her will do just that.

Jena Antonucci could relate to what happened Saturday. It was three years ago next month when she became the first woman to train the winner of any Triple Crown race. Arcangelo’s victory in the Belmont Stakes resonated that day, and it often is the first thing mentioned whenever she is introduced in a room full of newcomers to her story.

“I thought it was awesome,” Antonucci said Saturday night. “I’m so thrilled for Cherie. I couldn’t be happier for her. She works really hard. Welcome to the club. She deserves it.”

Antonucci then took the phone conversation where it should go. To making sure this is not an exception. That this does not remain a rarity. Only 19 women have trained Kentucky Derby horses in more than 1 1/2 centuries. DeVaux and Vicki Oliver are the only ones who have had starters in the last 10 years.

That trend cannot be corrected before next year. But the Preakness beckons in just two weeks. Presuming Golden Tempo goes, DeVaux will be the 18th woman to train a starter in the Maryland classic and only the second in the last 11 years. She could be the first woman to win it.

“I’m going to look forward to seeing who fills the spot for the Preakness,” said Antonucci, who did not rule out the possibility she might have a 3-year-old show up at Laurel Park. “It’s appropriate that each jewel of the Triple Crown be filled by a woman.”

DeVaux had a tough road to the current pinnacle of her career. She had been Chad Brown’s assistant for eight years when she set out on her own in 2018. Horses were hard to come by at first, let alone wins. It would be three years before her first graded-stakes success and five until her first Grade 1.

Then the ball got rolling. Now, what do you know? She got her first Kentucky Derby win before Brown. Not bad for a woman who went to college wanting to be a doctor. Working with horses snuck up on her.

“It was just one of those things that happened to work out,” she said. “I didn’t want to be a horse trainer, and it just kind of evolved into that.”

Look at her now.

When DeVaux was escorted into the media center, the buzz of collective conversations and keyboard clattering was interrupted with some muted applause. That is about as much as stubborn journalists concede, and even that would have been frowned upon by self-styled guardians who confuse sanctimony with ethics.

Growing up in the ’60s and ’70s, I was absorbed in women’s lib and equal rights. I still remember asking my mom around the time I was putting away the kindergarten crayons why women had to change their names when they got married. Whatever her answer was, I thought it was a load of a word I had not yet learned.

A lifetime later, the glass ceilings linger. They still mean it is news when a woman sets an important precedent. Like etching her name onto a trophy that is part of the rites of the American spring. Mom and apple pie, right? How about a working professional who happens to be a woman? The apple pie is optional.

I would not say I know DeVaux well, but I go back to the days when she would wander into the press box on cold winter days at Aqueduct, where the vibe was grayer than the weather. DeVaux, however, brought a humorously acerbic energy that caromed off the walls and windows and turned smirks into smiles.

DeVaux is not in this business to be the first woman to do whatever. She just wants to win for her clients and treat her horses well. It would be unfair to say she is reluctant to be a role model for horsewomen. She can be stoic going about her business, but she also admitted she felt internally “weepy” when she was approached by a hopeful little girl this week.

Antonucci also can relate to that. She also focuses on her job and lets the achievements come as they may.

“There’s so much going on watching the whole race,” she said. “Being where she was, I don’t go about it (thinking about firsts). She has a lot on her plate, but she’ll deal with it all later.”

Andie Biancone was inspired Saturday. The daughter of a trainer, herself an exercise rider, an accomplished TV analyst, the fiancée of a jockey and a woman who is not even 30 yet, she tried to put it into perspective standing near the outside rail after the Derby was won.

“I’m all choked up, honestly,” she said. “I’m just so happy for Cherie. She works so hard. She’s a great horseman, regardless of being a woman. But for the girls, I mean for the horse girls out there, this is crazy. I’m just very emotional, but this was a sensational run.”

And now David Ingordo can introduce himself not just as a bloodstock advisor. As he always has, he pridefully can say he is Cherie DeVaux’s husband.

Brava.

Senior writer Ron Flatter is the semi-retired managing editor who writes occasional columns for Horse Racing Nation.