Cherie DeVaux Pulls Golden Tempo From Preakness Stakes — Kentucky Derby 2026 Winner
The kentucky derby 2026 winner Golden Tempo will not run in the Preakness Stakes after winning the 152nd Kentucky Derby on May 2, 2026. Trainer Cherie DeVaux said the horse is fine health-wise and that the call was made as a group.
DeVaux on Golden Tempo
DeVaux said the team waited a few days before deciding whether Golden Tempo would go into the second leg of the Triple Crown. She added that the decision was not made lightly and that they did not feel it was responsible for him to come back and run in two weeks.
“It's been a mix of both, mostly positive. Which I appreciate, and I understand that fans of the sport or fans of the Triple Crown are disappointed, but the horse is not a machine,” DeVaux said in the interview about the withdrawal.
Triple Crown Bid Ends
The Preakness is the second leg of the Triple Crown, so Golden Tempo's absence closes off a 2026 Triple Crown attempt before it starts. DeVaux said the team was focused on a bigger picture than the Triple Crown and wanted to make a decision that fit the horse's whole year rather than only the next two weeks.
“Even though the Kentucky Derby is the first leg of the Triple Crown, I’m always biased, where you can focus on the Triple Crown or you can focus on the year because it takes so much out of them. And we were speaking. We decided that it was his best interest to focus on the year, not just coming back in two weeks and then coming back in three,” DeVaux said.
Cherie DeVaux Reaction
DeVaux also pushed back on criticism from fans who wanted Golden Tempo entered in the Preakness. She said the reaction has been mostly positive, but added that the harshest messages were unfair because the people sending them are not the ones responsible for training the horse.
“I have to advocate as the trainer to the owners or the clients, and we had a conversation, it wasn't my decision. It was a decision we made as a group and I'm sorry if people don't understand what goes into it. ‘Why enter the Derby if your not going to run the Triple Crown?’ Well, I think that’s unfair. We are not committing to this and they're horses, like they're animals, and they're not just a car where you can go out and run them in two weeks. That’s not how it works, and unfortunately if you’re not going to understand, then I can’t help you,” she said.
For Golden Tempo, the immediate change is simple: no Preakness start, no shot at the Triple Crown this year, and a season plan built around a slower return rather than a two-week turnaround. DeVaux said that is the decision she and the owners reached together, and she stood by it even with the pressure that comes with a Derby winner sitting out the second jewel.
