JOHNNY Weatherby holds two of the most important roles in racing and breeding, those of chairman of the family-owned Weatherbys and of Ascot Racecourse. In the latter case he is Her Majesty’s representative, overseeing the management of the racecourse on behalf of the Queen.

He is one of the trustees appointed by the Queen under an Act of Parliament to run the racecourse and he commenced this role about five years ago. He has worked with Weatherbys for a considerably longer time, joining the firm in 1979 and being appointed to the most senior position in 1993. The company was founded in 1770 and its most important role is to maintain the stud books in Ireland and Britain. Johnny is the seventh generation of the family to run the company in an unbroken history.