Golden Tempo wins Derby at 23-1

Horse racing got the kind of Derby people remember for years. Golden Tempo didn’t just win on Saturday, May 2 — he came from the back of the field at 23-1 and blew up the script at Churchill Downs. That made Cherie DeVaux the first woman ever to train a Kentucky Derby winner, and it gave Jose Ortiz his first Derby victory too. In one race, you got an upset, a stretch-run highlight, and a genuine piece of sports history. ### How did Golden Tempo win? He won the hard way — by waiting, saving ground, and then uncorking a late run when the field started to flatten out. Golden Tempo was near the back early, then came charging down the stretch and got past the leaders late. Renegade finished second, Ocelli was third, and Chief Wallabee came in fourth. ### Why was this such a big upset? Because 23-1 is real long-shot territory in a race this public and this heavily bet. Golden Tempo was not the horse most people expected to be wearing the roses. That price tells you bettors saw him as a live outsider, not a favorite — and ### Why does Cherie DeVaux matter so much here? Because no woman had ever trained the winner of the Kentucky Derby before this. Plenty of women have had major roles in racing, but this particular barrier had held for all 151 previous runnings. DeVaux broke it in the sport’s biggest American race, which is why this win instantly became bigger than a normal Derby upset. ### And Jose Ortiz? This was history on his side too. Jose Ortiz got his first Kentucky Derby win, and the family angle made it even sharper — his brother Irad Ortiz Jr. was aboard runner-up Renegade. So the exacta basically turned into a Derby duel between brothers, with Jose getting there first. ### Was this a huge day for Churchill Downs too? Yes — not just on the track. Churchill Downs said more than 150,000 fans were on hand, and Derby Week betting set a new all-time handle record for the track’s week of races. So the event itself was enormous even before the upset landed. Then the long shot won, which is exactly the kind of ending that keeps the Derby myth machine running. ### What happens now with the Triple Crown? That’s the next question, but it’s not automatic. DeVaux said after the race that the team would get Golden Tempo back to Keeneland, check how he came out of the Derby, and then decide on the Preakness. Basically, the story has shifted from “who won?” to “does the Derby winner come back in two weeks?” ### Why will people keep talking about this one? Because it hit every Derby nerve at once — chaos, a deep closer, a big betting price, and a history-making trainer. Some Derby winners feel inevitable. This one felt stolen late, which is much more fun. And when an upset also breaks a 152-race barrier, it stops being just a result and turns into a landmark. ### Bottom line Golden Tempo gave the 2026 Kentucky Derby exactly what the race sells every year — unpredictability, spectacle, and a winner people did not see coming. But this time the surprise came with something bigger attached: Cherie DeVaux didn’t just win the roses. She changed the race’s history.