His health, happiness, and long-term future will always remain our top priority.
For the second consecutive year, the winner of the Kentucky Derby will not pursue racing's most elusive prize. Golden Tempo, trained by DeVaux — the first woman in history to train a Derby champion — will bypass the Preakness Stakes in favor of rest and recovery, his connections choosing the horse's long-term wellbeing over the compressed glory of the Triple Crown. The decision extends a drought now eight years long, quietly asking whether the sport's greatest test has become too great a burden for the horses asked to bear it.
- The Triple Crown dream dissolves again — Golden Tempo's connections announced Wednesday he will skip the Preakness, just days after his stirring come-from-behind victory at Churchill Downs.
- Trainer DeVaux, already carrying the weight of history as the first woman to win the Derby, chose her horse's health over the relentless five-week gauntlet of three major races.
- This is the second straight year a Derby winner has stepped aside from the Preakness, deepening questions about whether the Triple Crown has become structurally unachievable in modern racing.
- The Preakness, already navigating its own disruption with a move to Laurel Park during Pimlico's redevelopment, may now draw its largest field since 2011 — up to 15 fresh contenders filling the void.
- Golden Tempo's story is not over — the stable has pointed him toward the Belmont Stakes, keeping one jewel of the crown still within reach.
Golden Tempo will not run in the Preakness Stakes. His trainer, DeVaux — who made history as the first woman to train a Kentucky Derby winner — announced Wednesday that the colt would skip the middle leg of racing's Triple Crown and instead target the Belmont Stakes next month. The decision extends the sport's long wait for a Triple Crown champion; the last horse to claim all three races did so in 2018.
DeVaux framed the choice around the horse's welfare. Golden Tempo had delivered a breathtaking come-from-behind performance at Churchill Downs, and the stable felt he deserved time to recover rather than be pushed through three grueling races in five weeks. Earlier in the week, DeVaux had told reporters the decision would depend on how the colt looked and felt after a few days of rest. By Wednesday, the answer was clear.
The withdrawal continues a troubling pattern. In 2024, Mystik Dan's Triple Crown bid ended at the Preakness; the year before, Mage also fell short at Pimlico. Trainers increasingly choose preservation over pursuit, and the Triple Crown — once the sport's ultimate measure of greatness — grows more distant with each passing season.
The Preakness itself is in a moment of transition, relocating to Laurel Park while Pimlico undergoes redevelopment. With Golden Tempo out, the field could swell to 15 horses, the most since 2011, injecting fresh competition into a race whose prestige has been quietly eroded by the absence of Derby winners two years running. DeVaux's stable, for its part, remains hopeful — Golden Tempo's season continues, and the Belmont still waits.
Golden Tempo will not run for the Triple Crown. The Kentucky Derby winner's trainer announced Wednesday that the colt would skip the Preakness Stakes, the middle leg of racing's most prestigious series, and instead point toward the Belmont Stakes next month. The decision closes another chapter in the long drought since a horse last claimed all three races—that was 2018, now eight years past.
The announcement came via social media from the stable of trainer DeVaux, who made her own piece of history by becoming the first woman to train a Derby winner. In her statement, she framed the choice around the horse's welfare. Golden Tempo had delivered what she called "the race of a lifetime" in his come-from-behind victory at Churchill Downs, and the stable believed he needed time to recover rather than face the grueling schedule of three major races in five weeks. "His health, happiness, and long-term future will always remain our top priority," the statement read.
DeVaux had signaled this possibility earlier in the week when she told CBS News that the decision would hinge on how Golden Tempo looked and felt after a few days of rest following his Derby exertion. The colt's energy level would be the measure. By Wednesday, the answer was clear: better to wait, better to let him breathe.
This marks the second straight year a Derby winner has opted out of the Preakness. The pattern reflects a broader reality in modern horse racing—the Triple Crown, once the sport's ultimate test of endurance and class, has become nearly impossible to achieve. In 2024, Mystik Dan's Triple Crown hopes ended with a loss at the Preakness. The year before, Mage, the 2023 Derby winner, also finished out of the money at Baltimore's Pimlico Race Course. Trainers increasingly choose to preserve their horses rather than risk them in back-to-back races against fresh competition.
The Preakness itself is in transition. This year's running, scheduled for May 16, will take place at Laurel Park in Maryland while Pimlico undergoes redevelopment. Race organizers have expanded the field to accommodate up to 15 horses—the largest field since 2011. With Golden Tempo's withdrawal, that full complement of starters becomes more likely, bringing fresh energy to a race that has seen its prestige dimmed by the absence of Derby winners in consecutive years.
DeVaux's stable left the door open to future glory. The statement expressed optimism about pointing Golden Tempo toward the Belmont, suggesting the colt's racing season is far from over. For now, though, the Triple Crown remains unclaimed, and another year passes without a horse joining the exclusive club of those who have won all three.
Notable Quotes
Golden gave us the race of a lifetime in the Kentucky Derby, and we believe the best decision for him moving forward is to give him a little more time following such a tremendous effort.— Trainer DeVaux's stable statement
The Hearth Conversation Another angle on the story
Why would a trainer skip the Preakness when the Triple Crown is the whole point?
Because one race, even a legendary one, takes everything out of a horse. Golden Tempo ran from behind to win the Derby—that's not just a victory, that's a physical ordeal. Three races in five weeks is asking a lot of any athlete, especially when the second one comes before full recovery.
But trainers have done it before. Why is it different now?
It's not really different. It's just that the cost-benefit calculation has shifted. The Triple Crown is so rare now—2018 was the last one—that chasing it feels like gambling with a horse's health for a historical footnote. If you lose at the Preakness, you've worn him out for nothing.
So the Preakness is becoming less important?
Not less important in history, but less central to how trainers think about their season. It used to be the inevitable middle step. Now it's optional. That changes what the race is.
What does it say that a woman trainer is the one making this call?
DeVaux is thinking like any good trainer would—prioritizing the horse. But there's something notable about her being the first woman to win the Derby and then immediately making a decision based on principle rather than pressure. She has the credibility to say no.
Will the Preakness still matter without Golden Tempo?
It will have more horses than it's had in fifteen years. That's something. But you can feel the shift—the Triple Crown as a narrative is loosening. Each race is becoming its own thing.