Ashlea Lantz, center, won last year’s Kentucky Derby fashion contest — and tickets to this year’s event. (Photo courtesy of Ashlea Lantz)
By Mary Boldinova
Editorial intern
Ashlea Lantz, the winner of the 2025 Kentucky Derby fashion contest, didn’t know there was a contest. She just knew to wear a spectacular hat.
Lantz, a disability policy consultant who lives in Des Moines, went to Churchill Downs for the first time last year at the invitation of a longtime mentor who had always dreamed of attending the Derby. Lantz herself had wanted to go since college, where she had a roommate whose family had once raised horses. And besides, she had a thing for fashion — especially hats. “I love hats,” she said. “I wish we would wear them to weddings in the States.”
Hats, of course, have been a Derby tradition since it started. When Col. Meriwether Lewis Clark Jr. founded the Kentucky Derby in 1875, he envisioned a European-style event for racing fans and glamorous socialites alike. In the 20th century, as fashion shed some of its formality — not only hats but gloves and parasols — the Derby became a throwback to the old days.
And that tradition is alive and well. During the week before the race, there’s a daily “Style Under the Spires” fashion contest judged by a rotating panel of Churchill Downs representatives and social media personalities. Entrants scan a QR code, submit a photo and wait.
Last year on Oaks Day, the Friday before the big day, Lantz signed up for the novelty of it. “I was so nervous,” she said. “I love fashion, but I’m not usually one to walk a red carpet. I’m not an influencer.”
She didn’t win, but she learned that the winner takes home tickets to return the following year. So on Derby Day, she figured she had nothing to lose and entered again.
The outfit practically chose itself. The hot pink hat, fluorescent yellow dress and blue handbag had been hanging in her closet since the previous summer, when she’d worn the look to a Variety children’s charity polo event in Des Moines. Like the Derby, it’s all about horses and hats.
The hat came from TocChic, a woman-owned business in Spain that Lantz has ordered from for years. “I just like what she’s about and who she is,” Lantz says. “Whenever I need a hat, I always order from her.”
At last year’s Derby, Lantz and a dozen other finalists were invited to the pink carpet. When the judges called her name, Lantz was whisked in front of the NBC camera. “It was all kind of surreal,” she said. “To be recognized for my fashion at probably one of the most longstanding traditions of fashion and a sporting event was wild.”
She did a live interview with Dylan Dreyer, beamed out to the Churchill Downs crowd and to millions watching on TV. She’s most proud of her shoutout to TocChic. “Just to be able to share with such a huge audience that the hat maker is a small business in Spain, that was one of my favorite things,” she said.
This year, Lantz is heading back to Louisville for three days: Thurby (the Thursday before the Oaks), the Oaks and the Derby. She’ll submit her photo again. This time, the outfits and hats she’ll pack in her bags were chosen specifically for the occasion. This year’s Derby ensemble is classic black and white, what she calls “an Audrey Hepburn kind of moment.”
You can watch Saturday’s festivities on NBC and Peacock, starting at 1:30 p.m. The race starts at 5:57 p.m.
