This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Cherie DeVaux. It has been edited for length and clarity.
I still can’t put into words the feeling of winning the Kentucky Derby. “Exciting” doesn’t cut it.
Everything in my life came down to that moment: it was the culmination of all the hard work, and the things that had gone wrong along the way. It was deep, and I was just overwhelmed with emotion.
I was born into horses. My parents did harness racing and I competed in rodeos as a kid. But I knew nothing about thoroughbred racing until I walked onto a racetrack while working my way through college. I got a job as a hot walker (leading horses during cooldown), the most entry level job at the track.
I didn’t have any goals or aspirations of being a trainer. I thought maybe I could become an exercise rider, but that was a very fun, very short-lived aspect of my career due to a broken leg.
I just wanted a job where horses would be part of my life. Now, horses are my life. I think that’s a great thing.
I always pushed myself — but wasn’t sure about starting a business
I grew up as a type A person in a family full of type Bs. Back before they were called vision boards, I used to write post-it notes with the time I wanted to achieve in my radio competition. Once, when I was struggling in biology class, my mom told me that no one asked me to get straight A’s. I just thought it was preposterous that someone would settle for anything less than pushing themselves.
Still, I had reservations about starting my own horse training business. I had a good job as an assistant trainer at one of the best barns in the world. Training horses was one thing — I knew I could do that — but the other aspects of starting a business felt overwhelming.
Getting married and starting a company turned my world upside down
Before we got married in 2017, my husband asked me where I saw my life going. He told me that if I wanted to become a trainer, he would support me and we could do it together.
That conversation started a big transition period: on Sunday, I quit my job as an assistant, and on Monday, I started Cherie DeVaux Racing. That Friday, I got married and became a stepmother.
I was a self-sustainable person who needed no one, but suddenly I had a husband and stepchild. I went from a highly structured job to the unpredictability of starting my own business. My life was turned completely upside down. For a person who likes order, it was a lot. It still feels like a lot, honestly, but I’ve become comfortable with being uncomfortable.
I haven’t made as much money as people may think
If you look me up, you’ll see that horses I’ve trained have won more than $36 million in prize money. But my company only makes a commission on that, and horse training is a business with a lot of overhead. My business has been growing exponentially, so I’ve been reinvesting almost everything into it. Until last year, my company was the loss-leader in our family, while my husband’s business (related to horse breeding) paid the bills.
I pay myself a salary, and give myself a bonus if we have a significant win. I haven’t done that for the Derby yet. In part that’s because I’m still waiting on the money to come through, and in part because the buzz after winning has been wonderful, but exhausting.
I’m ready to embrace the platform that the Derby win gave me
I’ve never wanted kids of my own — that baby I was holding at the race is my nephew. I just want to be the cool aunt who spoils her nieces and nephews.
In reality, being a trainer is my whole identity. I’m at the track each morning at 5:30. I can’t go on vacations. My husband and I tried last year, and ended up dealing with a horse-related emergency at home while we were in Florida. We’re trying to be more intentional about taking time off, but that’s hard when you’re responsible for 120 horses.
I want my legacy to be having a positive impact on the sport. Our industry gets a lot of negativity, and some of it is warranted. But I’ve seen drastic improvements in safety and aftercare planning for the horses. We’ve made progress in leaps and bounds, even in the past five years.
I never set out to be the first female trainer to win the Kentucky Derby. But it’s an honor to be that person. Now that I have this platform, I’m ready to embrace it.
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