Kentucky Derby: A leap of faith, a 23-1 long shot and history — Cherie DeVaux's Derby moment
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Back when she was in college, a pre-med student in Albany, New York, it was never part of Cherie DeVaux’s plan to become the first female trainer to win the most famous horse race in the world . Despite coming from a lineage full of harness racing trainers and drivers, including her father Butch, it seemed like young Cherie was going to carve a different path.
For many families, a young woman leaving behind a potential career as a physician to get a low-paying job walking horses might seem like a crisis. For the DeVaux clan, it was destiny. “She got a job as a hot walker and that was it,” her mother, Janet DeVaux, told Yahoo Sports.
“She went. She’s a go-getter. I was proud of her and the rest of the family, following along in their footsteps.
“And out of all of us horsemen, she made it. She did it. ” Did she ever.
On a chilly Saturday, after a little more than 2 minutes and 2 seconds of an unforgettable Kentucky Derby, DeVaux walked onto the racetrack at Churchill Downs with tears streaming down her cheeks and a baby in her arms. Her sister Adrianne, also a Thoroughbred trainer, was shaking. Her friends and family, many of whom drove down in a van from Saratoga Springs, New York, were screaming with joy and disbelief.
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