This website uses cookies

We use cookies to improve your experience and to provide us with insight into how people use our website.

To find out more, read our cookie policy.

It is with deep regret that we announce the passing of Sir Johnny Weatherby who died yesterday aged 66 following a life of peerless service to Thoroughbred breeding and horseracing.

Sir Johnny was a figure of immense stature within the sport of horseracing, and spent a number of years as Joint Master of The Cottesmore Hunt and had a deep love of Point-To-Pointing. One of his biggest thrills was watching Top Wood win the Foxhunters at Aintree in 2019, having been placed at Cheltenham in each of the two previous seasons.

From his early days as an amateur jockey for David Nicholson to his transformative tenure as Chairman of Weatherbys (1993 – 2022) and his distinguished service as Her Majesty’s Representative at Ascot (2011 – 2020), he embodied the very best of the Turf’s traditions, while driving the industry into the modern era.

As well as being Chairman of Weatherbys, Johnny was a Member of the Jockey Clubs of both Britain and the USA and was a global ambassador for the Thoroughbred.

Yet, he will be remembered most by his friends and peers for his energy, foresight, ambition and unwavering dedication to the integrity of the sport.

He was a man who moved with equal ease through every corner of the racing world.

His loss leaves a significant gap in the administrative and social heart of the industry.

The Weatherby family has requested privacy at this time.