The jockey became the first person in horse racing to be named Ballarat Sportsperson of the Year when she edged out a field of four other finalists to win the award.

Payne, who was on hand at the Ballarat Golf Club on Wednesday night, was voted the winner ahead of 2014 recipient Collis Birmingham, table tennis star Rory Carroll, Stawell Women’s Gift champion Grace O’Dwyer and Olympic race walker and multiple sportsperson of the year Jared Tallent.

While Payne’s entire year in the saddle was taken into account, it was surely her triumph in the Melbourne Cup that secured her the prize. The 30-year-old became the first women in history to win the great race when she steered Darren Weir-trained Prince of Penzance to victory at Flemington in November last year.

The win made Payne, who was born and bred in Ballarat, an instant sensational across the country and she has been on the road around Australia and even overseas promoting the triumph.

Payne’s sportsperson award is the the first won by a woman since Olympic swimmer Shayne Reese took the spoils in 2006 and 2007.

After being announced as the winner, Payne and the large crowd watched a relay of last year’s Melbourne Cup before she reflected on the win.

“Being a very proud Ballarat girl, it’s right up there,” she said of the Ballarat Sportsperson of the Year gong.

“It’s incredible to think that I’m here today and receiving that award. I’m just so lucky and so happy.”

Payne’s rivals for the award all had top years in their respective sports.

Amongst the achievements, Birmingham grabbed a bronze medal at the IAAF World Relay Championships, Carroll claimed gold in a teams event at the Thailand Para Open and secured a place in the 2016 Paralympics, O’Dwyer won the richest ever Stawell Women’s Gift and Tallent picked up silver in the 50km walk at the IAAF World Championships.

Payne said she had time to look through some of the past winners of the award, which have included the likes of Tallent (five times), champion long-distance runner Steve Moneghetti (six times) and Olympic gold medal-winning shooter Russell Mark (six times).

“Seriously, it’s so mind-blowing to think that I’m going to be on the list for years to come and always going to be the first woman that won the Melbourne Cup,” she said.

Months on from the success, Payne said watching replays of the Melbourne Cup was “amazing” and still gave her goosebumps.

“Every time I watch it, I still just shake my head and think how lucky that everything fell into place for us and we were able to win the greatest race that we have in Australia,” she said.

Hawthorn coach Alastair Clarkson was the club’s guest of honour on Wednesday night.

The former Ballarat Clarendon College student, who has led the Hawks to premierships in 2008, 2013, 2014 and 2015, announced Payne as the winner of the award and closed the function as the guest speaker.