Here she is! See who was crowned 2024 Kentucky Derby Festival Queen for Derby 150
With a vigorous spin, the carnival-style wheel was spun and the 2024 Kentucky Derby Festival Queen was crowned within moments.
In a tradition dating back more than 65 years, the Kentucky Derby Festival Royal Court selects a queen by the spin of a wheel. The crowning of this year's Royal Court regent took place Saturday during The Fillies Derby Ball at the Galt House Hotel. The annual event is sponsored by the Fillies, a volunteer group that works closely with KDF and manages the Derby Princess program, among other things.
All five Derby princesses ― Paighton Brooks of Alexandria, Sarah Downs of Springfield, Ankita Nair of Louisville, Laurel Riggs of Bardstown, and Emma Rhodes of Louisville ― had an equal chance of winning the queen's crown.
The wheel landed on Ankita Nair, who will reign as the Kentucky Derby Festival Queen for the two weeks leading up to the Kentucky Derby, held this year on Saturday, May 4.
The selection of the Kentucky Derby Festival Royal Court is a self-nominating process. After submitting applications, the young women go through a judging process before five are chosen to serve as Princesses and ambassadors to the community for the duration of the festival. Along with the newly crowned Queen, the Royal Court will attend nearly all 70 events associated with the Kentucky Derby Festival and the Kentucky Derby itself.
The first Derby Festival Princess was crowned in 1957, the second year of the Festival. Previous Princesses have included former Kentucky Governor Martha Layne Collins and the late Gail Gorski, the first female pilot ever hired by United Airlines.
The Fillies Derby Ball is the largest fundraiser for the Kentucky Derby Festival Foundation, KDF’s charitable arm. A portion of the proceeds from the ball benefits the foundation.
Here are the members of the 2024 Kentucky Derby Festival Royal Court:
Meet the 2024 Kentucky Derby Festival Royal Court
Paighton Brooks
The 21-year-old from Alexandria, Kentucky is a student at the University of Louisville. Brooks is double majoring in Political Science and Criminal Justice and is a Pre-Law and Public Policy student. She is a McConnell Scholar and its DEI Chair, and a Woodford R. Porter Scholar and also serves as President of Porter Scholars. She’s a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., is the 2023 University of Louisville Homecoming Queen, and volunteers with The Hope Buss.
Sarah Downs
A second-year Medical student at the University of Louisville School of Medicine, Downs is 23 years old and from Springfield, Kentucky. She is a member of the Distinction in Business & Leadership Track, the Social Chair of her class, and the Public Relations Chair of Project Heal. She is an avid pianist and has her own Kentucky Proud-certified bakery.
Ankita Nair
From Louisville, this 25-year-old, third-year Medical student at the University of Louisville School of Medicine graduated Summa Cum Laude from UCLA with a Bachelor's Degree in Human Biology and Society. Nair is the reigning Miss University of Louisville and was a Quality of Life finalist at Miss Kentucky. She founded the preventative health initiative "Let's Live Kentucky" to improve state healthcare outcomes and led her school's Medical Spanish program.
Laurel Riggs
This Bardstown native, 22, is a senior at the University of Kentucky with a dual degree in Political Science and Writing, Rhetoric, and Digital Studies. Riggs is Pre-Law and will be attending UK’s Rosenberg College of Law in the fall. She’s a Lunsford Scholar and Lewis Honors College student, is on the Executive Board for UK Panhellenic and Student Government Association and serves as Director of Programs at Hugh O’Brian Youth (HOBY) Leadership Kentucky.
Emma Rhodes
This 24-year-old from Louisville is a third-grade teacher at Saint Agnes School. She is in the second year of the Master’s Program at Bellarmine University focusing on Elementary Education. Rhodes was a member of the Bellarmine University Dance Team, served on the Executive Board of Phi Mu Fraternity, has taught English in Italy and Austria, is a three-time national ballroom dancing champion, and is a conservationist.
Reach features reporter Kirby Adams at kadams@courier-journal.com.