Golden Tempo won the 2026 Kentucky Derby on Saturday, May 2 at Churchill Downs, edging Renegade by a neck at 23-1 odds and making trainer Cherie DeVaux the first female trainer ever to win the Run for the Roses in the race's 152-year history.
Jockey Jose Ortiz rode Golden Tempo from last place to first across the wire in a final time of 2:02.27, completing the rare Kentucky Oaks-Kentucky Derby double on consecutive nights and beating his own brother, Irad Ortiz Jr., who finished second aboard favorite Renegade.
The 2026 Kentucky Derby produced three pieces of history in a single race. Here's the full breakdown of results, payouts, and what happened.
Kentucky Derby 2026 Results: Top 5 Finishers
| Place | Horse | Jockey | Odds |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Golden Tempo | Jose Ortiz | 23-1 |
| 2 | Renegade | Irad Ortiz Jr. | 5-1 |
| 3 | Ocelli | Joseph Ramos | 70-1 |
| 4 | Chief Wallabee | Junior Alvarado | 7-1 |
| 5 | Danon Bourbon | — | 14-1 |
Final time: 2:02.27 on a fast track Attendance: 150,415 at Churchill Downs Track conditions: Fast, 54 degrees (one of the coldest Derby Days on record)
Kentucky Derby 2026 Payouts
Golden Tempo's 23-1 win produced one of the bigger Kentucky Derby payouts in recent years.
- $2 win ticket on Golden Tempo: $48.24
- $2 place ticket: $19.14
- $2 show ticket: $11.90
- $2 exacta (Golden Tempo / Renegade): $278.86
- $1 trifecta (Golden Tempo / Renegade / Ocelli): $11,250.78
The total Kentucky Derby 2026 purse was $5 million, with roughly $3.1 million going to the winning connections. Owners take 80%, with trainer Cherie DeVaux and jockey Jose Ortiz splitting the remaining 20%.
How Golden Tempo Won the 2026 Kentucky Derby
Golden Tempo broke from post 19 and dropped to the back of the 18-horse field. Six Speed set the early fractions: 22.68 for the quarter-mile, 46.44 for the half, and 1:10.90 for three-quarters. Those splits were comfortable enough to keep closers in the race.
Jose Ortiz tracked his brother Irad on Renegade through the run. Down the stretch, Danon Bourbon briefly took the lead before fading. Ocelli, the 70-1 longshot, came charging on the inside. Then both Ortiz brothers detonated.
Renegade pulled away with a quarter-mile to go and looked like the winner. Golden Tempo found another gear on the outside and got his head in front at the wire.
"I felt like he wasn't a closer on Renegade," Jose Ortiz said after the race. "I was expecting Renegade to run a very good race, maybe win it. So it was one of my targets to follow, and I did."
Cherie DeVaux: First Female Trainer to Win the Kentucky Derby
Before Saturday, only 17 women had ever saddled a horse for the Kentucky Derby in 152 years. None had won. The closest before this was Shelley Riley's runner-up finish with Casual Lies in 1992.
Cherie DeVaux, 44, broke that wall in her first Derby attempt. She started at Churchill Downs 23 years ago as an exercise rider before working as an assistant under Chuck Simon and Chad Brown. She is also only the second woman to win any Triple Crown race, joining Jena Antonucci, who won the 2023 Belmont with Arcangelo.
"I started my career here 23 years ago as a bright-eyed, bushy-tailed exercise rider," DeVaux said. "I did not believe that I would be sitting up here today. Never in my life did I think I would."
DeVaux has not yet committed Golden Tempo to the Preakness Stakes on May 16.
Jose Ortiz Wins Kentucky Derby on 11th Try
Jose Ortiz had ridden in 10 previous Kentucky Derbys without a win. His older brother Irad has won five Eclipse Awards as the country's top jockey. Saturday flipped the family script.
Jose Ortiz also won the Kentucky Oaks on Friday night aboard Always a Runner, completing the Oaks-Derby double in less than 24 hours. Only a small group of jockeys in Kentucky Derby history have ever pulled that off.
"I just wish my grandpa was here, but I know he's looking from heaven," Ortiz said. "Just very happy that I get my goal, my life dream goal achieved."
On his brother Irad finishing second on Renegade: "Hopefully he gets the opportunity to win it one day, but today is not that day."
Who Is Golden Tempo? Pedigree and Background
Golden Tempo is a homebred 3-year-old colt by two-time Horse of the Year Curlin, racing for Phipps Stable and St. Elias Stable. He came into the 2026 Kentucky Derby with a 3-0-2 record from five career starts.
His Kentucky Derby prep races included third-place finishes in both the Risen Star Stakes and the Louisiana Derby. Solid but unspectacular form. He went off at 23-1.
"It is a family sport for us," owner Daisy Phipps Pulito said. "It's life changing for all of us. When you win a race like this, it's the pinnacle of our sport."
2026 Kentucky Derby Notes and Scratches
Six horses scratched in the week leading up to the race: The Puma, Right to Party, Silent Tactic, Fulleffort, Corona de Oro, and Great White. Great White flipped his jockey at the gate moments before the race and was scratched on the spot, delaying the post by 11 minutes.
Eighteen horses ultimately went to post.
Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert finished 12th with Potente and 17th with Litmus Test, missing his bid for a record-breaking seventh Kentucky Derby win. He remains tied with Ben Jones at six.
Last year's winning connections, jockey John Velazquez and trainer Bill Mott, finished fourth with Chief Wallabee.
Kentucky Derby 2026 FAQ
Who won the Kentucky Derby 2026? Golden Tempo won the 152nd Kentucky Derby on May 2, 2026, ridden by jockey Jose Ortiz and trained by Cherie DeVaux.
What were the Kentucky Derby 2026 odds for Golden Tempo? Golden Tempo went off at 23-1 odds.
Who is the first female trainer to win the Kentucky Derby? Cherie DeVaux became the first female trainer to win the Kentucky Derby in the race's 152-year history when Golden Tempo won the 2026 Run for the Roses.
What was Golden Tempo's final time in the Kentucky Derby? Golden Tempo covered the mile and a quarter in 2:02.27 on a fast track.
How much did Golden Tempo pay out in the 2026 Kentucky Derby? A $2 win ticket on Golden Tempo paid $48.24. The trifecta paid $11,250.78 on a $1 base bet.
Did Jose Ortiz win the Kentucky Oaks and the Kentucky Derby in the same weekend? Yes. Jose Ortiz won the 2026 Kentucky Oaks on Friday night aboard Always a Runner, then won the Kentucky Derby the following day on Golden Tempo, completing the Oaks-Derby double.
Who finished second in the 2026 Kentucky Derby? Renegade, ridden by Irad Ortiz Jr. and trained by Todd Pletcher, finished second by a neck.
Will Golden Tempo run in the Preakness Stakes? Trainer Cherie DeVaux had not committed Golden Tempo to the Preakness Stakes on May 16 as of Saturday night.
The 2026 Kentucky Derby aired on NBC from Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky on Saturday, May 2, 2026. The next Triple Crown race, the Preakness Stakes, runs May 16 at Laurel Park in Maryland.
Related coverage on BallerTube:
