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.