Kentucky Derby Festival Queen crowned during 68th annual Fillies Derby Ball

A lucky spin of a wheel led to a local student being crowned as the 2026 Kentucky Derby Festival queen Saturday night.Tania Vergara-Gongora received the title during the 68th annual Fillies Derby Ball, which is an event that helps mark the official start of Kentucky Derby festivities in Louisville.She secured the title in front of a packed crowd at the Omni during the event’s signature wheel spin.The names of each member of the Kentucky Derby Festival Royal Court were put on a wheel, and then they spun it to decide who the queen would be.Tap the player above to watch the wheel spin.“This is surreal,” Vergara-Gongora said after she received her crown. “It’s really exciting to see some of the amazing work that the Princesses and I will get to do this year.”She added that the role opens the door to a side of Louisville many don’t get to see.”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,” she said.Vergara-Gongora is currently a junior at Bellarmine University, where she is studying marketing with minors in marketing communications and broadcasting, production and performance.She and the princesses on the Royal Court will serve as a group of ambassadors for the Kentucky Derby Festival throughout the next year. They’ll make appearances at events, meet members of the community, and help carry on one of the festival’s greatest traditions as the city gears up for the 152nd running of the Kentucky Derby.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. —

A lucky spin of a wheel led to a local student being crowned as the 2026 Kentucky Derby Festival queen Saturday night.

Tania Vergara-Gongora received the title during the 68th annual Fillies Derby Ball, which is an event that helps mark the official start of Kentucky Derby festivities in Louisville.

She secured the title in front of a packed crowd at the Omni during the event’s signature wheel spin.

The names of each member of the Kentucky Derby Festival Royal Court were put on a wheel, and then they spun it to decide who the queen would be.

Tap the player above to watch the wheel spin.

“This is surreal,” Vergara-Gongora said after she received her crown. “It’s really exciting to see some of the amazing work that the Princesses and I will get to do this year.”

She added that the role opens the door to a side of Louisville many don’t get to see.

“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,” she said.

Vergara-Gongora is currently a junior at Bellarmine University, where she is studying marketing with minors in marketing communications and broadcasting, production and performance.

She and the princesses on the Royal Court will serve as a group of ambassadors for the Kentucky Derby Festival throughout the next year.

They’ll make appearances at events, meet members of the community, and help carry on one of the festival’s greatest traditions as the city gears up for the 152nd running of the Kentucky Derby.