A Different Side of the Derby

“The Most Exciting Two Minutes in Sports” is no stranger to controversy. Over the years, the Kentucky Derby has faced backlash from those who condemn the barbaric treatment of horses for entertainment. They assert that it’s an extravagant “display of wealth and greed,” simply because the patrons can. Critics go so far as to call it a “cosplay for rich people,” where bets are made to show that one has financial means. While I don’t negate these arguments, there’s another side to Derby culture that represents the progress and growth of the South and the sport itself. For a game that’s associated with the wealthy South, there is significant gender and racial diversity.

Leading Ladies

Though female spectators are now frequently seen with their fascinators and fashionable ensembles, the road to participating in the Churchill Downs festivities has been a long and difficult one. 

A woman’s place in the stands was similarly contested. After the grandstands at the Downs were fully constructed, the female spectators were sequestered to a special section, away from the drinking and betting in which the men boisterously participated. The strictures of society resolutely decided that women were too ladylike and would be “spoiled” by the men’s behavior.

On the racetrack, women initially leveraged ownership of horses to find their footing in a historically male-dominated sport. In the 1904 Derby, Lasca Durnell, owner of Elwood, was the first woman to have a winning horse. Durnell set a precedent for women’s opportunities, opening the door for other women to solidify their standing in the Kentucky Derby. Throughout the rest of the 1900s, female-owned horses consistently prevailed, and this success contributed to the first female jockey being licensed in 1968 after the passage of the Civil Rights Act. 

This record was still fraught with challenges. Regardless of licensing, female jockeys were not allowed to participate until 1970. And even then, Diane Crump, the first female Kentucky Derby jockey, had to be escorted by armed guards so that she could safely participate in her first race at Hialeah.

Today, women are still making strides in the Derby. On May 2, 2026, Golden Tempo won the 152nd Kentucky Derby. Not only was this an upset, as Golden Tempo came back to win after trailing for most of the race, but it was also a monumental feat for women in the equine industry—Cherie DeVaux became the first female trainer to win the “Run for the Roses.” 

DeVaux is part of a family legacy of Standardbred racing: harness racing in which the horses pull a driver in a two-wheeled cart. Growing up in a sprawling family with two sisters and seven brothers, she’s no stranger to a challenge. After being asked all week about the possibility of becoming the first female trainer to win, DeVaux finally saw that dream become a reality. “It really is an honor to be able to be that person for other women or other little girls to look up to,” DeVaux said. 

DeVaux’s career has progressed immensely: beginning as a stable worker in Saratoga, N.Y., to becoming an assistant, and later an official trainer in 2018. She has earned $36 million and competed in 299 races over her career. 

Her historic win is another feather in the hat of women’s continued success in male-dominated sports. “You can dream big, and you can pivot. You can come from one place and make yourself a part of history,” she continued. DeVaux is just the second female trainer to win a Triple Crown race, the prestigious series for three-year-old Thoroughbred horses, following Jena Antonucci at the 2023 Belmont Stakes. 

For an institution as integral to Southern culture as the Kentucky Derby, breaking through social barriers deserves to be celebrated and recognized. The Derby isn’t all about mint juleps and fascinators. Today, accomplishments like DeVaux’s show women’s ability to succeed in fields that have only recently become accessible to women. Add in the layers of prejudice they continue to face, and it becomes clear how momentous her win truly is. 

Jockeying for Success

Beyond the female empowerment that this Derby season embodied, diversity shines through in the jockeys themselves. 

Black jockeys originally dominated the sport in its early years. Following the emancipation of enslaved individuals in 1863, individuals like William “Billy” Walker, Isaac Murphy, and James “Jimmy” Winkfield became prominent jockeys in the industry. However, they were implicitly expelled from the sport with the implementation of Jim Crow laws. Their participation in the sport has waned over time, with little representation today.

Latino jockeys have since become central to the sport. Braulio Baeza from Panama City won both the Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes in 1963, paving the way for Latinos to enter the equine industry. Today, Puerto Rican José Ortiz carries on that same legacy. As the jockey who rode Golden Tempo to that historic finish line, he has steadily become one of the leading equestrians around the globe. With a 24 percent win rate in 2026 and over $300 million earned in lifetime purse winnings, his athletic prowess positions him as a key player in the sport. Upon reaching that historic finish line, he remarked on the exceptional moment in his career. “It’s a dream come true,” he said. “This is the biggest race in the world for me, and I’m just blessed that I get to ride it almost every year, but get to win—it’s just special.”

Ortiz has won other notable races throughout his career, including several Breeders’ Cup successes, wins in each of the U.S. Triple Crown races, and two Kentucky Oaks victories. 

With the diversity present in the horse racing community, it is evident that, though the status quo has its flaws, there remains a core part of the sport that celebrates inclusion and success based on individual talent and prowess. It is no longer 1904, and the olden days of racing are well behind us—it might even be time for the newest golden age of the Derby.

Seyi Amosun’29 (samosun@college.harvard.edu) thinks the Survivor’s Parade at the Oaks is one of the coolest traditions in American sports.