The 152nd Kentucky Derby race was held on May 2, with long-shot Golden Tempo emerging victorious after a perfect storm of events enabled the American colt to finish far better than expected. Before the race, racer Great White reared up and fell backwards during load-in, throwing jockey Alex Achard in the process. While there were no injuries reported, Great White was scratched from the race out of precaution. Along with Great White, five other racers were removed from running due to medical concerns. Great White’s late scratch lowered the count of racers to 18, down from an expected field of 20. 

The race began with Six Speed at an early lead, holding onto it into the first turn while race favorite Renegade fell behind after making contact with several other horses. Six Speed held onto the lead through the far turn until Danon Bourbon, the only Japanese-foaled participant in the running, broke ahead around the one-mile mark. At the stretch, several racers briefly took the lead before falling behind. After trades of the top spot, Renegade and Golden Tempo emerged from the string and battled through to the finish. In the end, Golden Tempo secured victory by a neck.

With the win, Golden Tempo’s trainer, Cherie DeVaux, became the first female trainer of a Kentucky Derby-winning horse in its 152-year history. In just her eighth year of training horses professionally, DeVaux already has 297 career wins and several other accolades under her belt. The battle to the finish line had family ties too — Golden Tempo’s jockey, Jose Ortiz, was able to fend off his brother Irad Ortiz Jr. on Renegade in order to achieve the win. Golden Tempo is expected to continue on to the Belmont Stakes next month in Saratoga Springs, New York.