Preakness 2026: DeVaux will try to decide by end of week

Trainer Cherie DeVaux hopes to have a decision by the end of this week about whether Golden Tempo will go to the 2026 Preakness.

"We'll try to make a decision by the end of the week," she said in an interview Monday morning with Savannah Guthrie, Craig Melvin and Carson Daly of the "Today" program.

The statement about her Preakness decision-making came after a gaffe from Carson Daly, in which he referred to the Belmont as being two furlongs longer than the Kentucky Derby. DeVaux responded with clarity and with facts about the upcoming challenges should Golden Tempo press further down the Triple Crown trail. "The Preakness is shorter in distance. And now the Belmont is at Saratoga, they're doing renovations on the racetrack, so we're still at a mile and a quarter, which he relishes.

"We'll have to see how he comes out of the race. He gets a couple easy days. He's probably snoozing right now."

In the interview, DeVaux also discussed the incident of Great White flipping behind the Kentucky Derby starting gate and commended jockey José Ortiz's handling of the situation. "When a horse acts unruly … luckily we weren't in the gate. Jose had even said, 'Don't put me in the gate, they're going to scratch that horse.' " 

DeVaux also praised Golden Tempo's laid-back and calm temperament, both before the Kentucky Derby and in general, as part of what makes him special. "He handled it. He just kind of was … standing there, like a dude," she said, when describing what happened behind the gate before Saturday's run for the roses.