Derby-winning trainer hopes more women will succeed after historic win

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Cherie DeVaux reflected connected her spot successful past implicit the play aft becoming the archetypal pistillate to bid a Kentucky Derby victor with Golden Tempo's come-from-behind victory astatine the Run for the Roses.

"I've ever conscionable said I'm a equine trainer that happens to beryllium female," DeVaux told CBS News connected Monday.

Only 17 different women person trained horses who ran successful the Derby, astir precocious successful 2021. Now that 1 has made it to the winner's circle, DeVaux hopes much volition follow.

"It's an honor, honestly, to conscionable beryllium that idiosyncratic that different women, young girls tin look up to," DeVaux said. "You know, we are underrepresented successful the industry, and I'm not definite why, but hopefully that changes."

Golden Tempo's trainer Cherie DeVaux kisses the trophy aft the Kentucky Derby astatine Churchill Downs, May 2, 2026, successful Louisville, Kentucky.

DeVaux wasn't ever connected a way that headed toward the winner's ellipse astatine Churchill Downs, the Derby's home. In college, she was pre-med and studied to go a carnal therapist.

"I wanted to person a beingness that afforded horses 'cause they're not cheap," DeVaux said.

She said she's ridden horses each her life, and yet her vocation shifted to exercising and grooming horses.

"This benignant of conscionable happened, this wasn't a linear journey," she said.

She made the leap to grooming horses connected her ain 8 years agone aft gathering her husband.

"The archetypal 3 years were truly dilatory to get started, benignant of similar Golden Tempo," DeVaux said, referring to the bay colt being successful past spot aboriginal connected successful the Derby earlier surging towards the decorativeness line.

With the adjacent limb of equine racing's Triple Crown coming up with the Preakness connected May 16, the Derby winner's trainer said there's lone 1 ballot that matters on whether Golden Tempo volition participate the race.

"It's up to him," she said.

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