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🌹 Golden Tempo. Cherie DeVaux. History.
Dead Last to First
Golden Tempo broke from post 19, settled into last, and produced a strong stretch run to make Kentucky Derby history. He swept past the entire field to edge Renegade at the wire and pay $48.24 to win. Final time: 2:02.27.
In doing so, Cherie DeVaux became the first female trainer to win the Kentucky Derby. She is 44 years old, born in Saratoga Springs, and just two days ago she said she was “just trying not to think too much about it being my first time in the race.” Now she’s got plenty more to think about.
Jose Ortiz rode the winner. His brother Irad finished second on Renegade. The Ortiz brothers first and second in the Kentucky Derby. Renegade, from the rail — the post we spent an entire edition analyzing — ran huge. He nearly beat 40 years of history. He just couldn’t beat Golden Tempo.
Ocelli, a late addition to the field after the Fulleffort defection, ran third at 70-1. Chief Wallabee, the workout buzz horse of Derby week and my pick, ran fourth. Didn’t do anything for my win-place-show major but at least he ran OK.
The Order of Finish
1. Golden Tempo (23-1) — Jose Ortiz / Cherie DeVaux — $48.24 / $19.14 / $11.90
2. Renegade (5-1) — Irad Ortiz Jr. / Todd Pletcher
3. Ocelli (70-1) — Joseph Ramos / D. Whitworth Beckman
4. Chief Wallabee (7-1) — Junior Alvarado / Bill Mott
Six Speed set the pace. Great White flipped at the gate and was scratched by the veterinarians on site, causing an 11-minute delay while horses were pulled from the gate and reloaded. 150,415 fans attended.
🎙️ Sean Boarman Had the Winner Underneath
“I love this horse underneath. I think 18-19 exacta is going to be the first bet I punch.” — Sean Boarman, recorded before the race. Program number 19 was Golden Tempo. Boarman had the winner pegged as his key underneath horse at 30-1 morning line, no doubt a result of the late pace potential he’d shown. Sadly, Further Ado let down the stated plan. I’ll check in with him this week to see if he has any stories to tell. Also coming soon we will have a Preakness Top 5 video and a dive into the GPS data from the Derby.
👉 Listen: Sean Boarman’s Derby Day Thoughts
📰 What’s Next — And Where to Find Us
This newsletter was originally supposed to end yesterday. But the story isn’t over — it’s just getting started. Golden Tempo is a Preakness horse. Renegade ran second from the rail and is a Belmont horse. The Puma never got to run. The Triple Crown trail continues.
This will be the last Daily to Derby edition published here on the ITM WordPress site and on Beehiiv for a while. But coverage continues without interruption at dailytoderby.com — bookmark it, check it daily, and you won’t miss a thing. The full 24-edition archive lives there too. We’ll be back in your inbox and on the blog when the moment calls for it.
Thank you for 24 editions, 23 days, and the ride of a lifetime. See you at Pimlico. 🌹
đź“‹ ITM Originals from Derby Week
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👉 Can You Win the Derby From the Rail?
👉 Is Todd Pletcher Actually Bad in the Derby?
👉 Browse all 24 Daily to Derby editions
Coverage continues at dailytoderby.com 🌹
