With the horses getting ready to run and the hats getting taller by the hour, one name is already stealing the spotlight, and she is former LSU star Olivia Dunne. It’s her first time at Churchill Downs, but Olivia Dunne isn’t one to just blend in. Less than a month out from closing her college gymnastics chapter with LSU, the 21-year-old is already on another playbook. She lit up the 2025 Kentucky Oaks on Friday, where she delivered the traditional “Riders up!” call in a striking pink dress. “Kentucky Oaks fans,” she called out with a smile. “Now, for the annual tradition we have all been looking forward to, riders up!” But behind the sparkle and smiles, there’s a more personal story quietly unfolding, one that’s a little less flashy and a lot more real. Because while everyone’s talking about outfits and odds, Dunne is thinking about next year already… And the tough calls she’s had to make this time around!

Olivia Dunne might’ve looked like she walked straight out of a Derby fairytale on Friday, with her soft pink dress and whimsical Amazon-bought hat, but behind the sparkle was a voice of reason that didn’t go unnoticed. “I wanted to go fairy chic today,” she said to Access Hollywood, standing beneath the Club SI sign. “So I got this dress online from Oh Polly, and I got this on Amazon.”

That’s right, Amazon. At the Kentucky Derby. “Ballin’ on a budget,” she laughed, making it clear that her priorities this year looked a little different. It might be hard to imagine the NIL queen, who reportedly has a $4.1 million valuation, not going all out at Churchill Downs. But as she admits, this trip is more about soaking in the experience and making thoughtful choices than making headlines for high-stakes fashion or betting.

“I probably won’t go too crazy since this is my first time,” Dunne said when asked about betting. “But maybe next year. I already wanna come back. This is my first year, so I think next year, I’m gonna go crazy. But this year, I need to start off soft.” That caution might stem from more than just first-time jitters. Less than a month out of college, Dunne has been closely involved in the $2.8 billion House vs. NCAA settlement, where she believes that high-earning female athletes, like herself, were being unfairly shortchanged.

So while the Derby purse this year climbs to a record $5 million and bets fly fast across Churchill Downs, Dunne is choosing to play it smart. A little pink, a little flair—but a lot of thinking ahead.

While Olivia Dunne is already thinking ahead to next year’s Derby, she’s also already made history at this one.

Olivia Dunne and Simone Biles become the first Gymnasts to call “Riders Up” at the Kentucky Derby

For the first time in Kentucky Derby history, gymnastics took center stage in the form of a powerful double act—Olivia Dunne and Simone Biles—to perform the Derby’s iconic “Riders Up” call.

Olivia Dunne, the LSU gymnastics star, kicked things off at the Kentucky Oaks on May 2, delivering the traditional command during the day’s festivities. It was her first-ever visit to Churchill Downs, and she became the first gymnast to give the “Riders Up” cue during the Oaks event.

Just a day later, Simone Biles, the most decorated gymnast in the sport’s history, will give the same just before the start of the 151st running of the Kentucky Derby on May 3. Their appearance joins a long list of past “Riders Up” announcers, including John Calipari (2012), Julius Erving (2014), Laila Ali (2018), Patrick Mahomes (2023), and Martha Stewart (2024).