LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — There are less than five weeks until the Kentucky Derby, and the Royal Court has been announced.
With the traditional spin of the wheel, Tania Vergara-Gongora, of Louisville, was crowned the 2026 Kentucky Derby Festival Queen at the 68th annual Fillies Derby Ball at the Omni Hotel Saturday night.
Vergara-Gongora is a junior at Bellarmine focusing on Marketing and Broadcasting.
“This is such a cool opportunity to see a unique side of Louisville that I wouldn’t have had the opportunity to see otherwise, especially at such a young age,” Vergara-Gongora said in a release.
Other members of the court include Mallory Brown, of Bardstown; Vy Pham, of Louisville; Sydney Shouse, of Louisville; and Brianna Williams, of Louisville.
As ambassadors of the Kentucky Derby Festival, they will attend dozens of Derby events leading up to the race on May 2. Each member of the court will receive two $1,000 scholarship and a wardrobe.
More than 100 young women applied for the roles of Kentucky Derby Festival ambassadors. The women were selected based on their knowledge of the Derby Festival, poise, intelligence, personality and campus/community involvement.
The first Derby Festival Princess was crowned in 1957, the second year of the Derby Festival.
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