March 28, 2026. Louisville, KY. – With the traditional spin of the wheel, Tania Vergara-Gongora {TAH-Nyah / Ver-Gaura / Gohne-Gora} of Louisville was crowned the 2026 Kentucky Derby Festival Queen tonight at the 68th annual Fillies Derby Ball Presented by Courtesy Cadillac at the Omni Louisville Hotel. Tania is a junior at Bellarmine University pursuing a degree in Marketing with minors in Marketing Communications and Broadcasting, Production & Performance. She is a Bellarmine Global Ambassador and Development Office intern. She’s also a Founding Member of the National Federation for Catholic Youth Ministry’s (NFCYM) National Youth Advisory, as well as a Catholic youth public speaker and artist.
“This is surreal! It’s really exciting to see some of the amazing work that the Princesses and I will get to do this year,” Vergara-Gongora said after being crowned. “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.”
This year’s Derby Festival Princesses eagerly awaited the spin of the wheel by Fillies President Shannon Adkins. The other members of the Court include: Mallory Brown of Bardstown, KY, a senior Presidential Scholar at the University of Kentucky pursuing a degree in Biology and will begin medical school in the fall; Vy Pham {Vee / Fam} of Louisville, a senior at the University of Louisville pursuing a degree in Mechanical Engineering at the J.B. Speed School of Engineering; Sydney Shouse of Louisville, a graduate of the University of Kentucky, where she majored in Communications and minored in Military Leadership, and is pursuing an MBA at Eastern Kentucky University; and Brianna Williams of Louisville, a Summa Cum Laude graduate of the University of Louisville, where she received a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and a minor in Diversity and Inequality, and is a second-year PhD student pursuing a degree in Educational Psychology, Measurement, and Evaluation.
Chosen each year as ambassadors for the Kentucky Derby Festival, the Royal Court is made up of outstanding young women from around the state. Selected from a pool of nearly 100 applicants, the newly crowned Queen and the Court will reign through 2026 and attend nearly all events during this year’s Festival. They’ll help share the Derby Festival spirit, as well as the importance of academics, volunteerism and community involvement, as they represent the community at a variety of functions.
Criteria for selection included knowledge of the Derby Festival, poise, intelligence, personality and campus/community involvement. Each woman receives two $1,000 scholarships (one from the Fillies, Inc., and one from the Kentucky Derby Festival Foundation). They also received an official wardrobe. The first Derby Festival Princess was crowned in 1957, the second year of the Festival.
The Fillies Derby Ball is Presented by Courtesy Cadillac. Official Sponsor: Total Wine & More. Contributing Sponsors: Capital Access Corporation – Kentucky, Hectare’s, and Park DuValle Community Health Centers. Official Bourbon: Kentucky Peerless Distilling Co. Official Vodka: Tito’s Handmade Vodka. Supporting Sponsors: Black Stallion Estate Winery, Class Act Federal Credit Union and Francis Coppola Prosecco. Media Sponsor: Media Pros. Produced by The Fillies, Inc.
