Felicity Barnard, the chief executive of Ascot, is applying lessons from a career in football to make Britain’s premier racecourse “nimble and creative” in its marketing, as it seeks to attract new generations while safeguarding a 300‑year‑old tradition.
Barnard, who joined Ascot as commercial director in April 2021 and became chief executive in January 2025, previously held commercial operations roles at Arsenal and West Ham. “I was used to selling 60,000 shirts at the beginning of every season and that doesn’t happen here,” she said. “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.”
The results since her arrival have been striking. Ascot was the only British racecourse to attract more than half a million racegoers in 2025. Its overall prize fund for 2026 will be a record £19.4 million, an increase of £1.65 million on 2025, and the King George VI & Queen Elizabeth Stakes – scheduled for late July – will become Britain’s first £2 million race, up from £1.5 million last year and £1.25 million in 2024. Over half of Ascot’s 169 races (88 in total) will see increased prize money in 2026; every Flat race will be worth at least £25,000, and all races at the Royal meeting will carry a minimum of £120,000.
The financial strength underpinning those figures is clear. In 2024 Ascot posted record revenues of more than £113.1 million and a pre‑tax profit of £8.4 million. It made a voluntary early repayment of £2 million on its 2004‑2006 redevelopment loan, reducing net debt to £4.6 million by the end of that year, and invested £6.8 million in technology, sustainability and customer experience.
Barnard’s move from the Premier League to the sport of kings was driven in part by the uniqueness of Royal Ascot itself. “It’s a global sporting phenomenon, as well as a cultural phenomenon during the English summer,” she said. There is no event in any sport that combines elite competition, royal patronage, fashion, garden party and a grand day out in quite the same way – only a handful, such as the Masters or the Monaco Grand Prix, are so tied to their location. “We’re very lucky to have Royal Ascot as an event, and we’re custodians of it,” Barnard said. “We’re 300 years old, and all the learning that people long before me have brought to bear is the reason why Royal Ascot is such a success.”
Ascot was founded in 1711 by Queen Anne, who recognised the heath near Windsor Castle as ideal for racing. The first permanent building was erected in 1793; an Act of Parliament in 1813 ensured the heath would remain a public racecourse; and the Royal Enclosure was officially named in 1845. Today the racecourse hosts 12 of the top 20 racehorses globally, according to the 2024 Longines World’s Best Racehorse Rankings.
The challenge Barnard faces is balancing that rich heritage with the need to appeal to older and younger generations alike. Pricing is a central part of the strategy. In a week when sports fans learned that a day at the 2026 Ryder Cup in Ireland will cost €499 (about £434) – with competition‑day tickets for the 2025 Ryder Cup in New York priced at $750 – the cheapest ticket for Royal Ascot, in the Windsor Enclosure, is £25. “We offer everything from £25 tickets to tickets for thousands at the top end for our Michelin‑starred chefs, and everything in between,” Barnard said.
The track has also developed a “Village” product in the infield, described as having “festival vibes” with a relaxed dress code. “It feels inclusive and welcoming, and we’ve seen the demographic and age of our consumers coming down quite significantly over the last three or four years,” Barnard said. According to Ascot, 49 % of ticket buyers in 2023 were aged 16‑34 – a notable shift that reflects the success of such initiatives.
That marketing effort is visible across London. Ascot’s “Ascot You” campaign, first launched in 2023, wallpapered the tube network and 200 black cabs in early 2025, and its glimpses of midsummer days have already shifted thousands of tickets for the five‑day Royal meeting (16‑20 June). The 2026 campaign carries the tagline “Find The Ascot You,” continuing the theme of celebrating individuality and personal style. Barnard noted that the 2025 meeting itself was used to capture material for the 2026 campaign: “We captured the Royal Ascot campaign for 2026 [at the meeting] last year, and you’re always on it, always planning for it.”
The broader industry has also benefited from Ascot’s pull. In the first half of 2025, British racecourses saw a 5.1 % increase in overall attendance year‑on‑year, with 2,430,225 racegoers; Royal Ascot contributed with a total attendance of 286,541, up 4.8 % from 273,528 in 2024. A national campaign called “The Going Is Good,” launched in May 2025, aims to highlight the excitement of live racing, while the British Horseracing Authority injected more than £5 million into prize money in 2025 to address concerns over declining racehorse numbers.
At a time of significant uncertainty in racing, Ascot has backed calls – from a group including most of Britain’s biggest racecourses – for major reforms that would give major players a bigger say in the sport’s future. The courses concerned are saying nothing more at present, but Barnard is clear about Ascot’s responsibility beyond its own gates. “It’s not just about people coming to Ascot or coming back to Ascot,” she said. “I believe that there is stretch in the sport and we work with a lot of other racecourses. If we can encourage anyone to visit York or Doncaster or anywhere else, that’s what we want to do.”
She drew a contrast with her previous world. “Within football, the numbers are big, it’s high octane and it’s always on the back pages. But funnily enough, if you work in the sport, those numbers are so huge that you can be a smaller cog in those big clocks that turn. And everybody at Ascot, and I’m sure it’s the same for racecourses around the country and around the world, has got such an integral part to play in the way that the sport moves forward.”
