A Historic Moment at Churchill Downs
On Saturday, Cherie DeVaux etched her name into horse racing history, becoming the first woman to train a Kentucky Derby winner as Golden Tempo surged down the stretch to claim victory in the 152nd edition of the most celebrated race in North American thoroughbred racing.
In a sport long dominated by male trainers, DeVaux's achievement is being hailed as a watershed moment — not just for women in racing, but for Canadian sport more broadly.
Golden Tempo's Unlikely Run
The win was anything but straightforward. Golden Tempo started from well back in the field, a strategy that had the Churchill Downs crowd holding its breath through the early stages. But rounding the final turn, the horse found a gear that the frontrunners simply couldn't match, charging through traffic and hitting the wire first in front of a packed Kentucky Derby crowd.
The dramatic come-from-behind run made the victory all the sweeter — and made DeVaux's composed demeanour in the winner's circle all the more impressive.
Breaking Barriers in Horse Racing
The Kentucky Derby, first run in 1875, has had female jockeys and female owners throughout its long history, but the trainer's role — the person responsible for preparing the horse for competition, managing its fitness, strategy, and day-to-day care — had never been filled by a woman in the winner's circle. Until now.
DeVaux joins a short but growing list of women who have cracked the upper echelons of thoroughbred training in North America. Her win on the sport's grandest stage is expected to inspire a new generation of women working their way up through barn roles, exercise riding, and assistant training positions across Canada and the United States.
What This Means for Canadian Racing
Canada has a rich horse racing heritage, anchored by storied tracks like Woodbine in Toronto and Rideau Carleton Raceway here in the Ottawa region. The sport has deep roots in Canadian communities, and a win of this magnitude on the international stage brings welcome attention back to the Canadian racing world.
For Canadian horse racing fans watching Saturday's race, DeVaux's win was a moment of national pride — proof that Canadian horsemanship and training expertise belong on the biggest stages in the sport.
A Win for Women in Sport
The reactions came swiftly from across the sporting world. DeVaux's milestone joins a string of recent firsts for women in traditionally male-dominated sports leadership roles — from coaching to refereeing to now training at the highest levels of thoroughbred racing.
Her win at Churchill Downs isn't just a personal triumph. It's a signal to every young woman mucking stalls, galloping horses at dawn, and dreaming of the winner's circle that the sport's glass ceiling has finally, decisively, been shattered.
For Golden Tempo, the road ahead includes the Preakness Stakes and potentially a run at the Triple Crown. But whatever comes next, Saturday in Louisville belonged entirely to Cherie DeVaux — and to history.
Source: CBC Top Stories
