Golden Tempo won the Kentucky Derby. Here’s what happened to the other 17 horses
History was made at Churchill Downs on Saturday, with 23-1 shot Golden Tempo pulling off the upset to make Cherie DeVaux the first female trainer ever to win the Kentucky Derby.
Golden Tempo was running last when the field crossed the finish line for the first time and was in the same position in the 18-horse race entering the final turn, but the son of Curlin unleashed a furious rally from there, passing horses on the turn before being forced to swing all the way to the outside in the stretch, where he ran down the leaders to win the 152nd running of the Derby by a neck.
Jockey Jose Ortiz won the Derby for the first time in his 11th try, and it was the first Derby starter ever for DeVaux, who trained the winner for the ownership tandem of Phipps Stable and St. Elias Stable.
Golden Tempo’s name will live on in Derby lore. But what happened to every other contender in the 18-horse field?
Renegade nearly wins the Derby
Morning-line favorite Renegade drew the dreaded 1 post for Saturday’s race and went off as the 5-1 second choice. He nearly overcame that bad luck to become the first Kentucky Derby winner from the 1 hole in 40 years.
Renegade, who was ridden by five-time champion jockey Irad Ortiz Jr., was crushed by the horses to his outside as soon as he left the starting gate. He was able to settle into a pocket of space after that initial tumult and came out of the first turn in 15th place.
After racing about 15 lengths off the lead down the backstretch, Renegade was 16th as the leaders entered the final turn, but that’s when he started to make his move. From there, Renegade picked off horses but was forced to angle far to the outside coming out of the final turn and into the stretch, going several paths wide before rolling through the stretch.
While it looked like he might ultimately win the race, Renegade was never in front for more than a moment. As soon as he caught the leaders, Golden Tempo caught up to him and passed him just before the wire on the far outside.
“He got roughed up coming out of the 1 hole — bumped around a little bit,” trainer Todd Pletcher said. “But we ended up getting the position we expected. We were going to let him settle and make his run. And he did that. He made a heck of a run. Just a head short.”
Renegade was Pletcher’s Derby-record 66th starter, and the Hall of Fame trainer was looking for his third win in the race. Ortiz, the older brother of winning jockey Jose Ortiz, had never finished in the top three in nine previous Derby starts.
Mike Repole, the owner of Renegade and a horse racing enthusiast who has spent big in recent years in hopes of landing a Kentucky Derby winner, was gracious in defeat after falling just short.
“I think the best horse won, and we had the second-best horse,” Repole said on the track, immediately after the race. “Could it have been the other way around? Yeah, in different circumstances. But today, he was the best horse. That’s it. There’s no excuses, man. … The 19 (Golden Tempo) had to go eight lengths out. So he had to go wide. We had to go inside. I’m sure if you look at his trip, he probably traveled a lot more ground than us. So there’s no excuse.”
Repole praised his 3-year-old colt, as well as Ortiz, who stuck with Renegade for Saturday’s race despite riding some of the other top contenders during the Derby prep season.
“Irad was so emotional,” Repole said. “I’m actually more upset that Irad lost than me (losing). That kid rode his ass off. … Think about Irad’s parents — (their sons go) 1-2 in the Derby.”
He also celebrated DeVaux’s historic achievement, just minutes after missing out on his own Derby dream.
“If I wasn’t in the race, I would have rooted for her,” Repole said. “Unfortunately, I couldn’t this time. But it’s all great. This is what racing is supposed to be about. How do we get this 365 days, instead of just one weekend in May and everyone goes away?”
Ocelli gets in, almost wins
Ocelli, who was entered in the Kentucky Derby despite never winning a race in six previous starts, nearly pulled off the ultimate upset Saturday.
The 70-1 shot didn’t have enough qualifying points to make the field initially, but he drew into the race Thursday morning when Fulleffort was scratched. Ocelli also picked up Fulleffort’s jockey, Tyler Gaffalione, as a result of the scratch.
That duo got a relatively clean break, and Gaffalione was able to angle Ocelli from his far outside post toward the rail in the opening moments of the race. As the leaders entered the first turn, Ocelli was second to last, and Golden Tempo was the only horse behind him.
Ocelli ran alongside Renegade down the backstretch and unleashed his move well before the morning-line favorite. He was also forced to go several lengths wide in the final turn and was charging at the leaders as they settled into the stretch, appearing to make contact with Commandment before maintaining his run and taking the lead.
That lead was short-lived, with the top two finishers closing on Ocelli’s outside and passing him just before the wire. He finished third, one length behind the winner.
“As he was coming down the stretch and I saw him with a chance to win — my mind went blank,” said trainer Whit Beckman. “Then I snapped back in and saw him finish. I’m so proud of him, and he showed he belongs with all these good horses.”
Chief Wallabee, Danon Bourbon were next
A couple of buzz horses during Derby week finished fourth and fifth in the race.
Chief Wallabee, who is trained by two-time Derby winner Bill Mott and was making just his fourth career start Saturday, found a good spot toward the back of the crowded lead pack entering the first turn and stayed within striking distance of the pacesetters.
Ridden by Junior Alvarado, last year’s winning jockey, Chief Wallabee entered the stretch in good position, but he was squeezed by horses to his outside and bumped into So Happy, knocking him briefly off stride. He recovered and ran to the rail, finishing three lengths back in fourth place.
“He got jostled and he got squeezed,” Mott said. “But he kept on coming, and I’m very proud of his run.”
Danon Bourbon, who was also making his fourth career start after going 3 for 3 in Japan, broke well and earned the lead spot on the rail going into the first turn. He settled just behind pacesetter Six Speed, held that position down the backstretch and took the lead going around the final turn.
After leading the field into the stretch, Danon Bourbon was winning by two lengths with less than a quarter-mile to go before the late closers swallowed him up. Chief Wallabee stuck a head in front of him just before the wire, leaving the 12-1 shot in fifth place.
The rest of the Kentucky Derby finishers
Virginia Derby winner Incredibolt ran 14th, at the end of the main pack, down the backstretch and had to go far wide to find room in the stretch, briefly making contact with Renegade to his outside just before the eventual 1-2 finishers passed him up. He finished sixth.
“It went great, we were able to relax early, and he gave me a really good run,” said jockey Jaime Torres. “I am very proud of him.”
Commandment, the Florida Derby winner and the fourth betting choice Saturday at 6-1 odds, broke cleanly and settled in toward the back, with only four horses beat as they entered the first turn. He inched up from there and unleashed his move around the final turn but was hit by Ocelli in the stretch and never threatened for the lead after that, finishing seventh.
“It was a rough trip,” said jockey Louis Saez. “Everybody was all over the place. He ran pretty well and made a nice move, but it was just a tough race.”
The Japanese-bred Wonder Dean raced near the leaders in the early going and was fourth down the backstretch, but he was jostled as they came out of the final turn and never made a move toward the front. He finished eighth, a little more than seven lengths back.
Santa Anita Derby winner So Happy, who was the third choice at 5-1, factored into a hot early pace and didn’t have anything left at the end. He finished ninth.
“He just did too much early on, and we went too fast,” said jockey Mike Smith.
Emerging Market, who won the Louisiana Derby in his second career start and was looking to become the first horse since 1883 to win the Kentucky Derby in his third start, was also near the front early and had an inside position right off the leaders entering the stretch, but he couldn’t close and ended up 10th.
“I didn’t watch the replay, but I thought I had a decent trip,” said jockey Flavien Prat. “I just came up empty. I just couldn’t make any move when it was time to go. A gap did open, but at that point I just did not have enough horse to go through.”
Blue Grass Stakes winner Further Ado was the betting favorite at 5-1 odds. He was slammed out of the gate but settled nicely in the middle of the lead pack. Further Ado was fifth in the final turn and had a clear path to the lead as they entered the stretch, where he appeared to get jostled again, though jockey John Velazquez offered no excuses for the 11th-place finish.
“I had a great trip,” he said. “He didn’t have any fight, and I didn’t have enough to fight on with.”
Santa Anita Derby runner-up Potente, who was Bob Baffert’s best shot at a record seventh Derby victory, had good position near the front in the early going and entered the stretch on the rail and in the mix, but he found no room to run, ending up 12th.
“I had a good trip,” said jockey Juan Hernandez. “My horse broke beautifully, and I was saving ground. We were able to drop down on the first turn, and he relaxed beautifully on the backside. I honestly thought when I asked him he was really going to pick it up, but he was a little one paced from there. He tried hard. We just didn’t have it today. He’s a nice colt.”
Six Speed ended up 13th after setting the early pace. Robusta (14th), Albus (15th) and Intrepido (16th) were never in the mix. Litmus Test, a long shot trained by Baffert, had trouble throughout the race and ended up 17th after sitting behind the early pace.
Pavlovian finished last in the Derby field, which was set at 18 horses after Great White was scratched at the starting gate. Trained by Doug O’Neill, a two-time Derby winner, Pavlovian helped set the pace in his two previous races but didn’t go directly to the front Saturday.
“There are a few horses that got sent to the lead in front of us, so there was no point of us rushing up on the first turn,” said jockey Edwin Maldonado. “I just settled in fifth, but he didn’t have it today. We hit the three-eighths pole, and that was it.”
This story was originally published May 2, 2026 at 10:01 PM.
