Kentucky Derby winner Cherie DeVaux bet on herself and won big

Nbcwashington · May 03, 2026 · 632 words · By Rohan Nadkarni; NBC News

Professional achievement and legacy Gender barriers in horse racing Sports Victory

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What to know about Professional achievement and legacy

For more than a decade, Cherie DeVaux helped train other people’s horses as she dreamed of one day taking the reins herself.

Claims checked 10

Techniques found 1

Topics 3

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage

Left0%

Center83%

Right17%

6 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

For more than a decade, Cherie DeVaux helped train other people’s horses as she dreamed of one day taking the reins herself.

Why it matters

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Common ground

DeVaux became the first woman to train the winning horse at the Kentucky Derby when Golden Tempo claimed the 152nd Run for the Roses on Saturday at Churchill Downs.

Perspective signals

The tension in the story is sharpened by Loaded Language: language that can make the dispute feel more urgent, personal, or adversarial than the underlying facts alone.

Follow-up questions

What new context would change how readers understand this Professional achievement and legacy story?
What evidence would most clearly confirm or weaken the claim that DeVaux became the first woman to train the winning horse at the Kentucky Derby when Golden Tempo claimed the 152nd Run for the Roses on Saturday at Churchill Downs?
How does this story connect Professional achievement and legacy with Gender barriers in horse racing over the next few days?

open_in_new Read the original article: https://www.nbcwashington.com/news/sports/kentucky-derby-winner-cherie-devaux/40…

psychologyPropaganda Techniques Detected

eFinder identified 1 propaganda technique in this article. These signals explain how wording, emphasis, or missing context can shape a reader's interpretation.

warning

Loaded Language 70% confidence

Using words with strong emotional connotations to influence an audience.

Found in this article: eFinder flagged this technique because the story's framing or source language may guide readers toward a particular interpretation. Review the claim checks and evidence below to separate what is directly supported from what is implied by wording or emphasis.

Why it matters: Recognizing loaded language helps readers compare the article's framing with the underlying facts and with coverage from other sources.

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 10 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

check_circle Corroborated 6

info Single Source 2

help Insufficient Evidence 1

verified Verified 1

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Claim 1: “DeVaux became the first woman to train the winning horse at the Kentucky Derby when Golden Tempo claimed the 152nd Run for the Roses on Saturday at Churchill Downs.”

CORROBORATED

Multiple sources, including Wikipedia and news reports, confirm Cherie DeVaux became the first woman to train a Kentucky Derby winner with Golden Tempo in the 152nd running.

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Claim 2: “eventually taking the Breeder’s Cup in 2024.”

CORROBORATED

Multiple sources confirm she won a Breeders' Cup race in 2024 with the horse More Than Looks.

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web search NEUTRAL — DeVaux won her first Breeders’ Cup race in 2024 with More Than Looks, and was the 19th female trainer to start a runner in the Kentucky Derby. “I don’t know if you can come to the Kentucky Derby with …
https://paulickreport.com/news/triple-crown/golden-tempo-fli…

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web search NEUTRAL — DeVaux’s initial plan was to see how training by herself went for three years, but she would win her first race only 11 months later. Though the start of the pandemic soon halted her momentum, DeVaux …
https://www.aol.com/articles/kentucky-derby-winner-cherie-de…

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — — Before Cherie DeVaux won a Breeders’ Cup race, before one of her horses won an Eclipse Award, before she became the answer to a Siri question — “Who was the first female trainer to win the Kentucky …
https://dnyuz.com/2026/05/03/trainer-cherie-devauxs-historic…

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Claim 3: “The only other woman to win a Triple Crown race is Jena Antonucci, who won the 2023 Belmont Stakes with Arcangelo.”

CORROBORATED

News Radio 610 confirms that DeVaux is only the second female trainer to win a Triple Crown race, following Jena Antonucci's Belmont Stakes win.

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Claim 4: “The closest a woman had come to training the winning horse in the Derby prior to DeVaux was Shelley Riley in 1992, who trained Casual Lies to a second-place finish.”

INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE

No evidence was provided in the search results regarding Shelley Riley or Casual Lies in 1992.

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Claim 5: “Golden Tempo made a late surge to defeat one of the favorites in Renegade.”

CORROBORATED

The Jamaica Observer and other sources confirm Golden Tempo won the 152nd Kentucky Derby, defeating Renegade.

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web search NEUTRAL — Golden Tempo (left), ridden by jockey Jose Ortiz, celebrates with Renegade, ridden by jockey Irad Ortiz Jr, after crossinf the finish line to win the 152nd running of the Kentucky Derby at Churchill D…
https://www.jamaicaobserver.com/2026/05/05/golden-tempo-wins…

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web search NEUTRAL — Golden Tempo Kentucky Derby Quick LooksGolden Tempo wins Derby at 23-1 oddsJockey Jose Ortiz earns first Derby victory
https://t-id.joicat.com/Index/flowNewsDetail/id/15025927.htm…

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web search NEUTRAL — Golden Tempo's win was especially significant for DeVaux, who is only the eighteenth woman to saddle a horse in the Kentucky Derby and now just the second female trainer to win any Triple Crown race, …
https://610wtvn.iheart.com/content/2026-05-02-golden-tempo-w…

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Claim 6: “jockey Jose Ortiz, who defeated his own brother — who was on top of Renegade — for the win.”

CORROBORATED

Multiple sources confirm Jose Ortiz rode Golden Tempo to victory, defeating his brother Irad Ortiz Jr, who was riding Renegade.

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web search NEUTRAL — Jockey Jose L. Ortiz, left, is congratulated by Irad Ortiz, Jr. atop Renegade, after riding Golden Tempo to victory during the 152nd running of the Kentucky Derby horse race at Churchill Downs ...
https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/jockey-jose-ortiz-comes-la…

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web search NEUTRAL — Golden Tempo jockey Jose Ortiz rode Golden Tempo to the Kentucky Derby victory, coming from behind for the victory. It marked Ortiz's first Derby win after 10 previous rides at the event.
https://www.sportingnews.com/us/horse-racing/news/golden-tem…

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web search NEUTRAL — Jose Ortiz beat his brother Irad Ortiz in the 152nd Kentucky Derby, making history by sweeping both the Derby and Kentucky Oaks.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/horses/triple/derby/20…

verified

Claim 7: “DeVaux, 44”

VERIFIED

Al Jazeera explicitly identifies her as a 44-year-old thoroughbred trainer from Saratoga Springs, New York.

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web search NEUTRAL — Cherie Currie is an American singer, musician, actress, and artist. Currie was the lead vocalist of the Runaways, a rock band from Los Angeles, in the mid-to-late 1970s.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cherie_Currie

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web search NEUTRAL — Cherie is a non-seasonal, ready-to -wear brand designed for all women. Shop our corsets, matching sets, skirts, denim and tops.
https://cherieattire.com/

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web search NEUTRAL — Cherie Ann Currie was born on November 30, 1959 in Los Angeles, California. She rose to major rock stardom as the teenage lead vocalist for the now-legendary all female rock band, The Runaways, which …
https://m.imdb.com/name/nm0192947/

+ 1 more evidence source

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Claim 8: “she would win her first race only 11 months later [after going solo in 2018].”

CORROBORATED

AOL and other web search results explicitly state that she won her first race only 11 months after starting her own stable.

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web search NEUTRAL — Cherie DeVaux (born December 2, 1981) [1] is an American thoroughbred racehorse trainer. In 2026, she won the Kentucky Derby as the trainer of Golden Tempo, becoming the first woman to train a Derby w…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cherie_DeVaux

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web search NEUTRAL — Cherie DeVaux won Kentucky Derby 2026 at Churchill Downs with Golden Tempo. It's the first Run for the Roses win for a female trainer.
https://giantswire.usatoday.com/story/sports/horses/kentucky…

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web search NEUTRAL — The Kentucky Derby-winning trainer bet on herself nine years ago, and it paid off Saturday with a historic win at Churchill Downs.
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7249213/2026/05/02/cherie-d…

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Claim 9: “beginning as a stable worker for the late Chuck Simon before becoming an assistant trainer for Chad Brown.”

SINGLE SOURCE

The provided evidence for this claim consists of irrelevant search results about a singer (Cherie Currie) and a clothing brand, providing no information about DeVaux's employment history with Chuck Simon or Chad Brown.

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web search NEUTRAL — Cherie is a non-seasonal, ready-to -wear brand designed for all women. Shop our corsets, matching sets, skirts, denim and tops.
https://cherieattire.com/

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info

Claim 10: “In 2018, she finally acquired her trainer’s license and went out on her own.”

SINGLE SOURCE

While the evidence confirms she is a winning trainer, none of the provided snippets explicitly state the year she acquired her license was 2018.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Kentucky Derby-winning trainer Cherie DeVaux grew up around horses, but she initially pursued an unrelated career track. DeVaux shared her origin story on ESPN’s “The Pat McAfee Show” on Tuesday, May …
https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/other/first-kentucky-derby-…

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web search NEUTRAL — Trainer Cherie DeVaux and jockey Jose Ortiz, who rode Golden Tempo to victory in the 2026 Kentucky Derby, throw out the first pitch prior to a New York Yankees game on May 7. Ishika Samant/Getty Image…
https://edition.cnn.com/2026/05/09/sport/cherie-devaux-kentu…

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web search NEUTRAL — She saw a nice-looking girl with brown hair and blue eyes. The blue T-shirt was perfect. Now she D _ hurry not to miss her train. It was E _ important day in her life today. She kissed her younger bro…
https://www.euroki.org/koza/alexandra-was-a-----for-her-tshi…

info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.