Nominations open for Churchill Downs' Kentucky Oaks Survivors Parade

Churchill Downs, Derby Divas and Norton Cancer Institute on Monday announced that the online nomination process to select 145 breast and ovarian cancer survivors to participate in the Survivors Parade at the 145th Longines Kentucky Oaks is open.

The public can nominate survivors for the parade or donate to Norton Cancer Institute at kentuckyderby.com/survivors. Nominations are open until 11:59 p.m. on March 17. 

This is the 11th year of the Survivors Parade and Longines Kentucky Oaks Pink Out celebration, which raise money to support women’s breast health. Churchill Downs, Derby Divas and Norton Cancer Institute will continue their three-year partnership to raise funds through Pink Out to help provide care to local women who lack access to breast health screenings and services.

Pink Out has raised nearly $1 million over the past eleven years. For the third year in a row, Churchill Downs will donate $50,000 to the Breast Health Program at Norton Cancer Institute and $1 for every Oaks Lily drink sold on the first Friday in May to Derby Divas. The donation will be used to help renovate the Norton Prevention & Wellness Mobile Prevention Center, which provides free screening services to underserved patients age 40 and older in Jefferson and surrounding counties. Included in this renovation will be the addition of a digitaltomosynthesis system, which is an advanced form of breast imaging, or mammography, that uses a low-dose x-ray system and creates multiple three-dimensional images to help with better diagnoses. 

“Our continued partnership with Derby Divas and Norton Cancer Institute has added to our past success to support these important women’s health issues,” said Tonya Abeln, President of Churchill Downs Incorporated Foundation. “Most importantly, the partnership focuses that support locally to build on the great work that Derby Divas and Norton Cancer Institute are doing in our community.”

“For the third year in a row, our partnership with Derby Divas and Churchill Downs means that more critical breast health programs are accessible to the women in our community,” said Lynnie Meyer, Ed.D, R.N., CFRE, Norton Healthcare senior vice president and chief development officer.

“We are thrilled to be central to the Oaks Pink Out for a third year,” said Derby Diva and breast cancer survivor Angela Tafel. “Derby Divas is a volunteer-driven community program, so the fact that the partnership focuses on making a difference locally means we can continue to raise funds and provide services to prevent breast cancer to underserved women here at home.”