LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Soon after Cherie DeVaux's wait-and-see answer Sunday morning about her Kentucky Derby winner's next stop on the Triple Crown trail, an official from the Preakness called to congratulate the history-making trainer and invite Golden Tempo to the series' middle jewel in Maryland.
Getting an official invitation checked off one detail for DeVaux, who on Saturday became the first woman to train a Kentucky Derby winner. Golden Tempo's Preakness fate could be answered later this week as DeVaux monitors the horse's recovery from a remarkable yet demanding rally from last place that won the 152nd Derby at Churchill Downs by a neck as a 23-1 long shot.
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Jockey Jose L. Ortiz celebrates after riding Golden Tempo to victory the 152nd running of the Kentucky Derby horse race at Churchill Downs, Saturday, May 2, 2026, in Louisville, Ky. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)
Jockey Jose L. Ortiz celebrates after riding Golden Tempo, left, to victory the 152nd running of the Kentucky Derby horse race at Churchill Downs, Saturday, May 2, 2026, in Louisville, Ky. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
Jockey Jose L. Ortiz celebrates after riding Golden Tempo (19) to victory the 152nd running of the Kentucky Derby horse race at Churchill Downs, Saturday, May 2, 2026, in Louisville, Ky. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)
Trainer Cherie DeVaux kisses the trophy after a victory by Golden Tempo in the 152nd running of the Kentucky Derby horse race at Churchill Downs, Saturday, May 2, 2026, in Louisville, Ky. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)
Golden Tempo (19) ridden by Jose L. Ortiz wins the 152nd running of the Kentucky Derby horse race at Churchill Downs, Saturday, May 2, 2026, in Louisville, Ky. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)
“As long as he's in tip-top shape, we'll talk about it,” said DeVaux, who vanned Golden Tempo over to Keeneland in Lexington, Kentucky, the morning after the race. “It is on the table, but it's really up to him.”
The usual post-Derby dilemma for trainers and owners is whether their horses are up for the two-week turnaround at the Preakness. This year, the race is at Laurel Park on May 16 while the traditional Pimlico Race Course is rebuilt. The Triple Crown’s middle jewel will go off at a shorter 1 3/16-mile distance with a presumably smaller field.
Some entrants will be rested from skipping the Derby altogether or being scratched in the days leading up to the "Run For The Roses." In either case, it’s a tough ask of Saturday’s competitors.
Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher said Sunday that second-place Renegade “came back in good order” after a “tough beat,” which also involved a rally from the back. He will take the colt and his other Kentucky horses to Saratoga in New York, the site of next month's Belmont Stakes, on Tuesday.
Whit Beckman said third-place Ocelli, a 70-1 long shot who rallied to lead at the 1/16 pole before finishing 3/4 lengths behind Renegade, was “doing fine,” but offered no indication about the Preakness. Trainer Bill Mott said a trip to Maryland isn't in the cards for Chief Wallabee, who finished fourth.
“Nobody talks about the Preakness,” the Hall of Famer Mott said. “The Belmont at Saratoga; we need to discuss that. (Co-owner) Kay Kay (Ball) was thrilled with the way he ran (Saturday). He has done a lot since the first of the year.”
The focus nonetheless remains on Golden Tempo and a possible encore to his gutsy Derby run with jockey Jose Ortiz.
Dead last of 18 horses early on and mostly off the radar, the bay colt weaved through traffic to find space outside and then hit overdrive to outrun the field and edge Renegade in a wild finish with just one length separating the top three. Golden Tempo earned his third win in five career starts, (placing third in his two losses), and collected $3.1 million.
Golden Tempo appeared at ease in the Sunday chill, occasionally sticking his head out of his stall to munch on feed. Meanwhile, DeVaux was trying to regain her bearings from a whirlwind 12 hours that involved a celebratory family dinner at a local steakhouse and just a few hours of sleep.
She still has congratulatory phone messages to answer along with fulfilling media requests. As packed as DeVaux's immediate future will be, her priority is helping determine if Golden Tempo's sixth start comes sooner or later.
“There is a lot of racing in him,” she said. “I really am grateful that he’s the horse that you can just do what you need to do and he responds well and kind of just does whatever.
“We’re all just absorbing this and we have to have a lot of conversations. ... Factors like that are not what’s at the forefront of our minds. We want to do what’s best for the horse.”
AP horse racing: https://apnews.com/hub/horse-racing
Jockey Jose L. Ortiz celebrates after riding Golden Tempo to victory the 152nd running of the Kentucky Derby horse race at Churchill Downs, Saturday, May 2, 2026, in Louisville, Ky. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)
Jockey Jose L. Ortiz celebrates after riding Golden Tempo, left, to victory the 152nd running of the Kentucky Derby horse race at Churchill Downs, Saturday, May 2, 2026, in Louisville, Ky. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
Jockey Jose L. Ortiz celebrates after riding Golden Tempo (19) to victory the 152nd running of the Kentucky Derby horse race at Churchill Downs, Saturday, May 2, 2026, in Louisville, Ky. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)
Trainer Cherie DeVaux kisses the trophy after a victory by Golden Tempo in the 152nd running of the Kentucky Derby horse race at Churchill Downs, Saturday, May 2, 2026, in Louisville, Ky. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)
Golden Tempo (19) ridden by Jose L. Ortiz wins the 152nd running of the Kentucky Derby horse race at Churchill Downs, Saturday, May 2, 2026, in Louisville, Ky. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)
MARICA, Brazil (AP) — When Sávio Conrado Mura left his Indigenous village of stilt houses located deep in the Amazon rainforest in early April, he departed with the hopes of representing his people as a professional soccer player and, maybe, one day playing for the Brazilian national team at the World Cup.
Mura's first step toward earning the chance to don the famous yellow jersey once worn by Pelé and so many other Brazilian soccer greats took place on Sunday in an empty stadium in Rio de Janeiro with a team exclusively made up of Indigenous players.
The 21-year-old goalkeeper, who takes his last name from the Mura people of his birth, left his headdresses and bows behind to play for Originarios, a new soccer club in Rio’s fifth division that is mainly for players under the age of 23. He and 25 more youngsters from 13 native Brazilian groups have been getting ready by living and training in Marica, a city of 200,000 located about 25 miles (40 kilometers) from Rio.
“I am already a role model for my community,” Mura told The Associated Press after a training session on Thursday. “If me playing in a World Cup is God’s will, I will take it.”
His team won 2-0 despite coach Huberlan Silva not being able to field five of his starters for different reasons. Still, Originarios delivered a solid performance in front of a few dozen locals — none of its fans could travel to the Rua Bariri stadium in Rio.
Mura says he is the only person to ever leave his village, which is near the city of Autazes next to one of the smaller tributaries of the sprawling Amazon River, with the aim of becoming a professional soccer player. His journey from the depths of the rainforest to begin his pro career with Originarios took three days of travel by boat, car and airplane to reach Rio.
The Originarios team has gathered players from 10 Brazilian states, with 15 of them being chosen from about 400 videos of Indigenous players. Coach Wesley Terena, who has experience in amateur tournaments, also brought some trusted players with him. An Originarias team of female players is expected to start play in 2027, the same year Brazil hosts the Women’s World Cup.
Off the field, the players live together, sing songs in their native tongues and cover their bodies in war paint to keep traditions alive. But once soccer practice begins, they focus on drills, ball control and fitness.
On Sunday, their rival Barcelona, a Rio-based team named after the more famous Spanish club, was never a match for Originarios, which scored both of its goals in the first half.
The Originarios project that drew Mura thousands of miles (kilometers) from the remote Amazon waterways to the urban sprawl of Rio exemplifies how difficult it is for Indigenous peoples in Brazil to display their talents without leaving their communities behind. They do play tournaments back home, but all are amateur and not widely seen by most in the soccer-crazy South American country.
Government figures show Brazil’s Indigenous population is less than 1% of its 213 million residents. There have been some players with Indigenous roots in Brazilian league teams and the national team, but no fully Indigenous man has ever played in any of the top four divisions.
Although Originarios is a professional team, it doesn’t disclose player salaries and a lot of its structure is still amateurish. Players have to ride in a school bus loaned by the city of Marica to train at a rented facility. Practice needs to finish by 11 a.m. because the bus has kids to pick up soon afterward.
But those hurdles don’t bother the players.
“I am so focused on soccer now,” said Edilson Nunes da Silva Karai Mirim, a 25-year-old member of the squad from the Guarani Mbya people who likes to entertain his teammates by playing his guitar. “This song in my language says the sun may rise to give us strength. Strength for our struggles each day, and that every day can be blessed.”
Founded in 1981, Gavião Kyikateje fielded an almost entirely Indigenous team in 2014 and played in the top division of Para state’s championship. The club now plays in the second division and its team is mixed.
Some Brazilian national team players who played in World Cups claim to have Indigenous roots, such as Garrincha, who won the biggest prize in soccer in 1958 and 1962 as a teammate of Pelé, and Paulinho, who played in the 2014 and 2018 tournaments.
Anderson Terra, the team’s administrator, is the mind behind Originarios. He also chairs the Instituto Terra do Saber, which works with Guarani Mbya populations in the city of Marica.
Terra said the team became possible because of a deal with a Rio-based club named Ceres, which had playing rights in the league but did not have plans to have a soccer team this year. Otherwise, Originarios would have had to raise up to 1.3 million Brazilian reais ($260,000) to pay local and national soccer bodies to compete.
“We don’t want to reach Brazil’s top league. Competing is important, it will happen, but our main goal is to provide opportunities,” Terra said. “The vast majority of these boys come because they have a dream. This tournament is for under-23 players, only five may be above that age.”
If climbing up divisions in Rio’s lower leagues doesn’t come quickly, Originarios already has offers to play overseas and display its special red shirt — a reference to urucum, a natural paint that is used by Indigenous peoples in Brazil as a symbol of power and life.
“(Soccer) is not just a game,” the team’s profile on Instagram says ahead of its debut. “This is a landmark, it is resistance and it is pride.”
Coach Huberlan Silva said after Sunday's win that he wants Originarios to one day inspire fans beyond the discussion about their roots. He said there are several Indigenous players in Brazil's top flight division but that prejudice against native Brazilians playing soccer has stopped them from associating themselves with their own ethnicities.
“We need to start breaking barriers and start telling their stories, they have wonderful stories about their people, their villages,” Silva said. “They want to tell it with the ball at their feet.”
Savarese reported from Sao Paulo. Associated Press reporter Mario Lobão contributed to this report.
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
Fans of Originarios, a new soccer team in Rio's fifth division made up exclusively of Indigenous players, cheer during a match against Barcelona in Rio de Janeiro, Sunday, May 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)
Players of Originarios, a new team in Rio's fifth division made up exclusively of Indigenous players, celebrate after scoring a goal against Barcelona during a Campeonato Carioca match in Rio de Janeiro, Sunday, May 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)
Players of Originarios, a new team in Rio's fifth division made up exclusively of Indigenous players, gather in the dressing room before a match against Barcelona in Rio de Janeiro, Sunday, May 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)
Members of Originarios, a new soccer team in Rio's fifth division made up exclusively of Indigenous players, train in Marica, Brazil, Tuesday, April 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)
Edilson Nunes da Silva, a player of Originarios, a new soccer team in Rio's fifth division made up exclusively of Indigenous players, plays the guitar at his home in Mata Verde Bonita village in Marica, Brazil, Tuesday, April 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)
Members of Originarios, a new soccer team in Rio's fifth division made up exclusively of Indigenous players, train in Marica, Brazil, Tuesday, April 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)
Players of Originarios, a new soccer team in Rio's fifth division made up exclusively of Indigenous players, ride a bus to practice in Marica, Brazil, Tuesday, April 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)
A player for Originarios, a new soccer club in Rio's fifth division made up exclusively of Indigenous players, controls the ball during a training session in Marica, Brazil, Tuesday, April 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)
