How Ascot is trying to take a lead in world sport as well as racing

Telegraph

5 hours ago

If there is a more positive person in racing than Felicity 'Fliss' Barnard, the new chief executive at Ascot as she heads into her first Royal meeting in charge, then I would like to meet them.
One suspects Barnard's default setting is undiluted positivity. If the cat peed on the carpet she would probably find the positive in that but, apart from having what she considers the best job in racing, she also has good reason for the current spring in her step.
Against a backdrop of gloom for racing and just 10 days after a dismal, drastically declining doom-loop Derby day-attendance at Epsom, Ascot ticket sales are already an impressive 15,000 up on last year even before the gates open on Tuesday, for a week that celebrates 200 years of the Royal procession.
On top of those figures the course will be, ahead of schedule, net-debt free of the £200 million loan it took out for its grandstand in 2005 by the end of the year, an international cast of horses are assembled and, the dusting on this week's Victoria sponge, the forecast is for wall-to-wall sunshine.
While many other racecourses seem to be hitting turbulence, buffeted about by 'economic headwinds', Ascot is bucking most of the trends, the wind is from its tail and that is not just down to luck; it is proving that if you get the product right, the pricing right and get the message out there to places other racecourses could only dream of reaching, then the future is bright.
Barnard, 42, a mother of two children aged eight and five – who will get a tour of the racecourse on Sunday to 'see what Mummy does' – comes from a commercial background in sport.
She worked with West Ham, set up Arsenal's office in Singapore, ran a tennis start-up to encourage players from underprivileged homes, and worked in the NFL. She says if West Ham played Arsenal, she would support QPR.
Though she has no background in racing, she joined Ascot as its commercial director and deputy chief executive four years ago, so she knows the commute, as it were; it may be the first time with the actual reins in her hands, but it is not her first Royal Ascot.
'We are cock-a-hoop about the numbers, all the team are delighted,' she admitted on Thursday, a day before 'Royal Ascot-ready Friday' – when the cellophane comes off and the course is deemed ready to go. 'You can't go out and buy a new table on Tuesday morning because the one you've got isn't right,' she explained about attention to detail and being ready four days early.
'Coming from a commercial background, it's a very interesting product when you have 300,000 people over five days; everyone from the King of England to someone who has saved all of their expendable income over the last few months.
'There's an ecosystem of getting the product right, the pricing and how you're telling people about it. We are doing well numbers-wise. It means we have good business health going into the summer.
'We focus very heavily on what the Royal meeting stands for. Can you explain Royal Ascot very easily to someone who doesn't understand racing? Yes. Are we visible every day if you want to engage with us? Yes. Can you come at the right price for you? Yes.
'The experience is paramount, from the bowler hats to how long it takes to get a drink, that there aren't scuffs and scratches on the tables, little details, we talk a lot about the five per cents here.
'There are several reasons for increasing numbers. We've worked really hard on identifying the best product across all enclosures. So you can access Ascot in the Windsor Enclosure for £25, while at the top end we are pushing multiple thousands of pounds for some of our fine-dining, Michelin-starred restaurants.
'It [£25] is incredible value and allows it to be very accessible. Pricing plays a part, the product is good but, also, we are investing not just on-site but in digital infrastructure, so now our customer journey online is a lot smoother and, on top of that, the 'Ascot You' campaign is in its third year.
'The idea of that is trying to encourage people to show the best versions of themselves at Ascot whatever enclosure, creating the aspiration, and a lot of that is driven digitally. If ordering clothes from John Lewis, you should be served an advertisement saying 'have you thought about Royal Ascot'?'
Of course, time was when the late Queen Elizabeth ring-fenced Derby day in her diary and the lack of modern Royal presence may have contributed to Epsom's decline, but Royal Ascot still benefits hugely from a strong Royal patronage and the pomp and pageantry the British do best.
'The Royal Family's attendance is a private occasion but in a public setting,' Barnard explains. 'It's not like the opening of Parliament. I know they enjoy it. The procession is like nothing else and starts every day, even though people have been on site for a few hours, it's the start whistle for the day's action.'
'We want to take the lead in world sport'
To mark 200 years, an original state Landau carriage will be on display in the grandstand, a building greeted almost with derision when it was unveiled in 2006 but which has matured into a huge success with iconic status. It is a perfect example of Barnard's Ascot mantra 'evolution not revolution' – hated when it was all new, loved now, with a few small tweaks each year.
'It may have been an advantage not knowing much about the sport initially,' reflects Barnard, 'but inevitably you end up loving the sport you work in because it's your everyday. It's brilliant to understand the relationship between man and equine – it has tentacles which are far reaching from just what happens on the track.
'I spent two days in Newmarket this week. The passion for horses is extraordinary. I've been in racing four years and anything people can do to bring you into the sport, they will. That's why I want us to be a thriving business.'
Ascot's ambitions do not stop at increasing gate numbers. 'We are trying to take a leadership position in world sport as well as within racing,' says Barnard.
'We've been building that over a few years. Our priorities are to keep increasing prize money but also to work towards a self-sustaining sport for the next 30 years. How can Ascot contribute to the future of racing here and internationally? That's how I attack this job.'
Two centuries of the Royal procession: 10 memorable moments
1825 The first Royal procession takes place – a moment choreographed with theatrical finesse by William Wellesley-Pole. On May 31, King George IV, accompanied by the Duke of Wellington, leads four other coaches with members of the Royal party from Windsor Castle to Ascot – a tradition that has endured for two centuries.
1838 Queen Victoria makes her first visit to Ascot as Sovereign. She was responsible for the introduction of the Windsor Greys to pull the Royal carriages for state occasions and the procession. However, she did not return to Royal Ascot after the death of her husband, Prince Albert, in 1861.
1863 The eldest son of Queen Victoria, Prince Albert, who later became King Edward VII, attends his first Ascot meeting aged 21 and continues to lend his support to the Royal meeting with enthusiasm. He restores the Royal procession and revives the custom of inviting overseas visitors to Ascot.
1953 Queen Elizabeth II leads the Royal procession as monarch for the first time following her ascension to the throne earlier that year.
2000 The only time the Royal procession has been held outside Royal Ascot week. Six days before the late Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother's 100th birthday, a special Royal procession is arranged for July, on the day of the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Ascot – the race that had been named in her and her late husband's honour.
2001 The state opening of parliament means no Royal procession on the Tuesday and Wednesday as all the horses are required in London.
2005 Royal Ascot is held at York due to the redevelopment of the Ascot grandstand – the first time the procession has ventured outside Berkshire. It is a special, poignant week, described by the Duke of Devonshire, Her Majesty's representative at Ascot at the time, as 'one of the most significant racing events in living memory, something very special and a moment of history'.
2017 Queen Elizabeth II gives the Queen's Speech in parliament on the Wednesday of Royal Ascot week before travelling by helicopter to Windsor to take her place in the procession, which proceeded on time through the Golden Gates at 2pm.
2022 The Royal procession returns after a two-year hiatus owing to Covid. With Queen Elizabeth II unable to attend, the procession is led by various senior members of the Royal Family including the then Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, now the Prince and Princess of Wales, on the Friday.
2023 King Charles III makes his debut as monarch in the Royal procession. The same year, Desert Hero, a horse bred by his late mother, delivers an emotional victory in the Royal colours.