Felicity Barnard: ‘I’m hugely positive about racing. I love it and all the characters in it’

The uniqueness of Royal Ascot was a factor in the track CEO’s jump from the Premier League to the sport of kings

“I was used to fans,” Felicity Barnard, the chief executive of Ascot, says, recalling earlier roles in charge of commercial operations at Arsenal and West Ham. “At Arsenal, I was used to selling 60,000 shirts at the beginning of every season and that doesn’t happen here, so it’s teaching me how to be nimble and creative with our marketing year-on-year. That just isn’t necessary in football, because you’ve got people who will be with you for the whole of their life.”

Barnard, clearly, is a very quick learner. Since her arrival at Ascot in April 2021, initially as commercial director and then, from January 2025, as CEO – one of the sport’s great offices of state – Britain’s premier racecourse has shaken off any lingering after-effects from the pandemic and seen attendances and prize-money rising year-on-year. Ascot was only British racecourse to attract more than half a million racegoers in 2025, its overall prize fund of £19.4m in 2026 will be another new record, and the King George VI & Queen Elizabeth Stakes in late July will be the track’s first £2m race.