LOUISVILLE, May 3, 2026 —
Key Takeaways
- Golden Tempo won the 152nd Kentucky Derby at 23-1 odds, coming from last place in the field entering the final turn to win by a neck over pre-race favorite Renegade — in a stretch run that jockey Jose Ortiz described as something he will never forget.
- Trainer Cherie DeVaux, 44, became the first woman in the Derby’s 152-year history to train the winning horse — ending a streak in which 17 female trainers had reached the Derby without a winner, with the closest prior finish being Shelley Riley’s runner-up in 1992.
- The race produced a brothers finish that has no precedent in Derby history — Jose Ortiz rode Golden Tempo to victory while his brother Irad Ortiz Jr. finished second aboard Renegade, the first time two siblings finished first and second in the Run for the Roses.
The Stretch Run That Nobody Saw Coming
With a quarter mile to run in the 152nd Kentucky Derby, Golden Tempo was not in contention. He was not near the back of the pack. He was the back of the pack — last place, 19th of 19 horses, surrounded by turf and noise and the kind of impossible distance that had defined his race from the opening gate.
Jose Ortiz did not panic. He had told connections before the race that he always believed in the horse. He had ridden Golden Tempo in his previous starts and knew something the crowd at Churchill Downs did not: this horse ran differently when he had room. When a gap opened on the outside in the final turn, Ortiz found it. Golden Tempo went through it. And then, in one of the most breathtaking stretches runs in recent Derby history, a 23-1 long shot threaded through a tight field and ran down the favorite in the final strides to win by a neck.
The winning time was 2:02.27. The crowd of 150,415 — the largest Churchill Downs had seen since the attendance record was set in 2015 — watched in stunned silence for a moment before the roar came.
The Full 2026 Kentucky Derby Results
| Finish | Horse | Odds | Trainer | Jockey |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Golden Tempo | 23-1 | Cherie DeVaux | Jose Ortiz |
| 2nd | Renegade | 5-1 | Todd Pletcher | Irad Ortiz Jr. |
| 3rd | Ocelli | 70-1 | Various | Joseph Ramos |
| 4th | Chief Wallabee | 8-1 | Bill Mott | Junior Alvarado |
| 5th | Commandment | 6-1 | Brad Cox | Luis Saez |
The top three finishers included two long shots — Golden Tempo at 23-1 and Ocelli at 70-1 — making this one of the most value-friendly results for bettors in recent Derby history. The exacta of Golden Tempo over Renegade paid generously. Renegade, the morning-line favorite who drew Post 1 — a gate that had not produced a Derby winner since Ferdinand in 1986 — ran the race his connections expected, pressing the pace and finishing second in a race he might have won from a more favorable starting position.
Who Cherie DeVaux Is — and What This Moment Means
Cherie DeVaux is 44 years old, born in Saratoga Springs, New York, and has been around horses her entire life. She began her career as an exercise rider at Churchill Downs — the same track she returned to Saturday as the first woman to win the Derby — and spent years as an assistant trainer before getting her own license in 2018. On her 29th start as a trainer in 2019, she got her first win. In the eight years since, she has accumulated more than 300 victories.
Golden Tempo was her first Kentucky Derby entry. Before Saturday, 17 women had trained horses that reached the Derby. None had won. The closest was Shelley Riley, whose Casual Lies finished second in 1992 — 34 years ago.
DeVaux’s reaction when the winning margin was confirmed was not a scripted triumph. “I don’t even have any words right now,” she said in the winner’s circle, roses draped across Golden Tempo’s neck. “I just can’t. Just so, so happy for Golden Tempo. Jose did a wonderful job. He was so far out of it.”
When asked about being the first woman to win the Derby, she said: “I’m just glad I don’t have to answer that question anymore.” Her team laughed. The room laughed. And then she said something quieter: “I started my career here 22 years ago as a bright-eyed, bushy-tailed exercise rider. I would not have believed I would be sitting up here today.”
The Brothers Story — Jose and Irad Ortiz
The finish produced a subplot that would have been the headline in any other year. Jose Ortiz, aboard Golden Tempo, and Irad Ortiz Jr., aboard Renegade, finished first and second — brothers, separated by a neck, in the most famous two minutes in American sports.
The Ortiz brothers from Puerto Rico have been two of the most decorated jockeys in American racing for the better part of a decade. Jose won the Kentucky Oaks on Friday aboard Always a Runner. Saturday, he completed an Oaks-Derby double that has rarely been achieved and simultaneously beat his brother in the race both of them have dreamed of winning their entire careers.
Irad, in defeat, ran an outstanding race. Renegade was the better horse on paper — the favorite, the prep-race winner, the consensus pick. He ran accordingly. A horse that came from last place simply ran faster in the final quarter mile. In another year, on another day, Irad Ortiz Jr. wins the Derby aboard Renegade. On this Saturday, his brother got there first.
Will Golden Tempo Run the Preakness?
The Triple Crown begins May 16 with the Preakness Stakes in Baltimore. DeVaux, asked repeatedly whether Golden Tempo will run, gave the same answer each time: the horse will decide.
It is not a deflection. A Kentucky Derby winner coming off a grueling stretch run has exactly two weeks to recover before the Preakness, and trainers who push hard into the second leg have historically produced horses that ran well in May and poorly in June. DeVaux has earned the right to make this decision on her own terms and on Golden Tempo’s terms — not on the Triple Crown narrative’s terms.
If he runs and wins, she becomes only the second woman to train a Triple Crown race winner. If he skips the Preakness and comes back fresher for the Belmont, she preserves a horse that proved Saturday he is capable of producing the kind of run that wins races nobody expected him to win.
For now, Golden Tempo is in the barn at Churchill Downs, cooling out, eating, resting. A 23-1 long shot who came from last place to write the most human story of the 2026 sports calendar so far. His trainer is answering questions she says she’s glad she no longer has to answer. And the Kentucky Derby is over — until it happens again next year, and the year after, and for as long as Churchill Downs stands.
