Girl power
Female horse trainers react to DeVaux\\\\\\\'s historic Kentucky Derby win
Cherie DeVaux made racing history on May 2 when she became the first female trainer to win the Kentucky Derby in its 152-year history.
Just two weeks after Golden Tempo, a 23-1 longshot, rallied from last place to beat Renegade by a neck, another woman trainer, Brittany T. Russell, is trying to make it two in a row when her horse, Taj Mahal, competes in the Preakness Stakes at Laurel Park in Maryland today.
DeVaux’s win has sparked widespread celebration among women in the horse racing industry and beyond, and it’s turned her into an inspiration for women and young girls.
“It was fantastic to see Cherie win, and it’s great for girls who are interested in horses, and for girls everywhere. It’s great to know that women can do it,” said Ashley Brown, a horse trainer, driver and owner at The Meadows Racetrack in Washington. “It shows there’s no ceiling, that you can do whatever you set your mind to do.”
DeVaux joined Jena Antonucci, who captured the Belmont in 2023 with Arcangelo, as the only women to train the winner of a Triple Crown race.
Horse racing has long been seen as a male-dominated sport, local female trainers say – DeVaux was just the 18th woman to saddle a horse in the Kentucky Derby since 1937, when Mary Hirsch became the first woman trainer to enter a horse in the Derby – but over the years, women have made remarkable contributions as jockeys, trainers, owners, breeders, and farm managers.
Angie Coleman, who grew up in the Midwest in a family with deep roots in horse racing – her aunt, Alice Weber, is a member of the Iowa Harness Racing Hall of Fame – said she is hoping DeVaux’s win paves the way for more women to have opportunities to win the Kentucky Derby in years to come.
“Cherie’s win means so much because, as a woman, this is very much a man’s world, and it’s very much an old man’s world,” said Coleman, the Claysville mother of two daughters, Aubrey, 8, and Hallie, 5. “As a woman, you fight and claw for recognition in this business.”
Coleman, who trains horses at The Meadows, acknowledged that it’s difficult to ascend to the top in horse racing, and believes DeVaux’s win is symbolic of what female trainers can accomplish with determination and hard work.
She admires DeVaux’s willingness to start out as a hot walker – responsible for cooling down horses after a race or hard workout – and work her way up.
“That’s the bottom level, entry level job. Cherie has the respect of her peers because she’s been around and has done the ‘grunt work,’ so to speak,” said Coleman. “Everyone should start there because you learn so much more. A lot of people think you can just start as a trainer, but it is not that easy.”
Brown, who lives in Washington and grew up around horses – her father and grandfather are well-known figures in the harness racing industry – said that a career in horse racing often demands sacrifice, and can be a juggling act for women with families.
She works as a registered nurse, and her 9-year-old daughter, Alexa, is involved in travel softball.
“For a lot of women, it’s different because a lot of women in the business have children, so we’re training horses and doing things behind the scenes, but we’re still full-time moms and working, so you have to have the support from your spouse and your family and friends,” said Brown, who credits her husband, Christopher Shaw, a driver who helps operate her stable, for supporting her nursing and training careers.
Scarlett Wilder is a horse trainer, driver and owner at The Meadows. A fourth-generation horsewoman, her grandfather, Dan Altmeyer, trained standardbred horses for more than 40 years, and her father, Mike Wilder, a trainer and driver, is closing in on 10,000 career wins.
She said she was thrilled to watch DeVaux win, and was especially excited because DeVaux grew up in a harness racing family (where drivers guide standardbred horses from two-wheeled carts called sulkies), not thoroughbred racing.
“It’s a huge thing that she won,” said Wilder, a critical care nurse at UPMC Washington. “It took 152 years, but she got it done. I was absolutely amazed. Mainly, it has been a man’s game. For her to be on such a big stage and to win is huge. She’s making it possible for a lot more women to try it and go for it. There are a lot of people who are stuck in their ways in this business and they might think women aren’t as good, but the success women are having in sports today is changing that.”
Wilder currently has two horses in training, Lori’s Ticket, owned by former female trainer Theresa Miller, and Global Boots, owned by Wilder.
“Theresa wants to see other women prosper. It’s women supporting women,” said Wilder. “Sometimes you don’t get that support because everyone is competitive and everyone wants to be the best, but she wants to see other women succeed, and it’s important for women to build each other up.”
DeVaux has opted not to run Golden Tempo in The Preakness, saying she wants to protect the colt’s health – only three horses from this year’s Derby will be racing in the second leg of the Triple Crown – but he will be in the starting gate at the Belmont Stakes at Saratoga Race Course on June 6.
And women and young girls – including Coleman and her daughters – will be rooting for DeVaux and Golden Tempo.
“We’ll definitely be watching,” said Coleman.