Weatherby appointed Ascot chief

Johnny Weatherby has been appointed chairman of Ascot racecourse, succeeding the Duke of Devonshire.

Chairman of Weatherbys, racing’s administrators, he has been a trustee since 1997 and has sat on the board of Ascot Authority (Holdings) Limited since 2001.

Weatherby will be responsible for the management of the course and will head the board which also comprises of Charles Barnett (chief executive), Mark Davies (trustee), the Duke of Devonshire (trustee), Justin Dowley (non-executive director), Janet Walker (commercial and finance director) and Ronnie Wilkie (operations director).

The Duke of Devonshire remains as England's queen’s representative at Ascot, a post to which he was appointed in 1997.

“I am delighted that Johnny has taken on the role of chairman at Ascot,” said the Duke of Devonshire.

“I have considerable commitments elsewhere and I see this as a natural progression as our business continues to grow.”

Weatherby added: “I am delighted to be taking over as chairman at Ascot and look forward to continuing to build on the tremendous amount that has been achieved under the Duke’s leadership.”