POSTER AND MERCHANDISE LINE TO LAUNCH IN FEBRUARY
December 15, 2025. Louisville, KY. – A Louisville-based designer and arts educator, whose work has been featured in Sports Illustrated, the White House Visitor Center and Heaven Hill Distillery, will play a special role in the 2026 Kentucky Derby Festival. Shae Goodlett has been selected as the Festival’s Official Poster Artist for the 2026 season. Goodlett’s design will be spotlighted on the Festival’s 2026 Official Merchandise Line, featuring everything from clothing and accessories to glassware, mugs and more. The Poster will be unveiled in February.
“For more than 40 years, the Kentucky Derby Festival’s Official Poster has captured the spirit and tradition of our most anticipated time of year,” said Matt Gibson, Kentucky Derby Festival President & CEO. “Shae is a talented Louisville artist whose creativity brings the Festival to life in a whole new way. We can’t wait to share his vision with our fans.”
Goodlett considers himself a lifelong artist. His love for art traces back to his childhood. His earliest memories of drawing are when he and his older brother would copy images from “Batman” comics. He earned a Bachelor of Arts from Bellarmine University and a Master of Fine Arts from the University of Louisville. Goodlett says being named the Festival’s 2026 Official Poster Artist is a career milestone.
“As a native Louisvillian, the poster release is something I look forward to every year. To be named this year’s artist feels like a bucket-list accomplishment,” Goodlett said. “I really leaned into the spontaneity of mark making and color application, creating moments in the piece that might be hard to replicate even for myself. I think this approach holds an energy similar to that of the events of the Derby Festival itself.”
Goodlett began his illustration career as a weekly contributor at Louisville Magazine and published his first book, “The Meatshower” in 2018. His artwork has been exhibited in galleries across Kentucky, Tennessee and Ohio, and he teaches graphic design and illustration at the University of Kentucky. He lives in Louisville with his wife, Jackie, and their two daughters, Hazel and Lolly. For more information about Goodlett, visit ShaeGoodlett.com.
Over the years, the Derby Festival’s Official Poster Series has become a unique symbol of the community. Peter Max’s expressionistic “Bluegrass Pegasus” launched the series in 1981, and a stylistic and geographical mix of artists have been showcased over the years. Fans can still purchase most of the previous artwork at KDF.org.
