Golden Tempo won the 152nd Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky, on May 2, 2026, and will not run in the Preakness Stakes. Trainer Cherie DeVaux said the decision to rest the colt drew criticism, but she defended it as a group choice made with the owners or clients.
DeVaux said the horse is fine health-wise and rejected the idea that he should be pushed back into another race just two weeks later. “The horse is not a machine,” she said, adding that the team decided it was in Golden Tempo’s best interest to focus on the year rather than rush back for the second leg of the Triple Crown.
The Derby is the first leg of horse racing’s Triple Crown, and the Preakness is the second. That makes any decision to skip Baltimore a flashpoint for fans hoping for a shot at the sport’s most famous sweep, especially after a colt wins at Churchill Downs and the question turns immediately to whether he will keep going.
DeVaux said the reaction has been mixed, mostly positive, but that some of the messages she has received have gone too far. She said she understands the disappointment from fans of the sport and fans of the Triple Crown, but said those outside the barn do not see what it takes to manage a horse across a long season.
She also pushed back on the argument that a Derby winner should automatically be entered in the next race. The trainer said it was unfair to assume every horse can be asked to come back in two weeks, and said Golden Tempo’s team wanted to avoid pushing him too hard. The colt was photographed outside a barn after a workout at Churchill Downs in Louisville on April 27, 2026, days before the Derby win that changed the conversation around him.
For now, the headline answer to what horse won the Kentucky Derby is Golden Tempo. The bigger story is that his connections are betting on the long view, not the quick turn, and they are willing to absorb the backlash that comes with leaving the Preakness on the table.
