Sir Johnny Weatherby

1959-2025

Written by Adrian McGlynn

THE WORLD of horseracing has lost one of its most steadfast guardians and outstanding leaders. Sir Johnny Weatherby, who died on December 18, 2025, at the age of 66, was a man whose life was inextricably woven into the fabric of the Turf. 

Representing the seventh generation of his family to lead Weatherbys; he modernised and championed the industry with a blend of professional rigour and personal warmth.

Born on November 30, 1959, Johnny was the son of Christopher Weatherby and Alison Pease. He was born into a lineage that has served as core administrators of British racing and proprietors of the General Stud Book since 1770. 

Following education at Eton College, Johnny joined the family firm aged 19 in 1979.

He was far more than a figurehead. After a productive secondment to the Jockey Club in London during the 1980s, serving as secretary and later director, he took over the chairmanship of Weatherbys from his father in 1993. 

Under his stewardship, the business flourished and became far more open and accountable. Along with other senior members of the Weatherbys team he was instrumental in founding Weatherbys Bank, which he served as chairman for 23 years, cementing the firm’s role as the financial headquarters of the British racing community but also diversifying into the wider world of high-end private banking.

While his business acumen was centered at the Weatherbys HQ in Wellingborough, Johnny’s public presence was most visible at Ascot Racecourse. 

Serving as trustee from 1997, chairman 2011-2020, and Her Majesty’s Representative 2010-2020, he carried with distinction the immense responsibility of elevating the standards of the world’s most famous racecourse and race meeting. 

He was a man at ease in any company, moving seamlessly between the Royal Box and every corner of the racecourse. His knighthood in 2020 was a fitting recognition of decades of service to the sport and the Crown. 

His influence extended globally. Not only attracting international competitors of the highest class to Royal Ascot, but also as chairman of the International Stud Book Committee, ensuring the integrity of the thoroughbred horse remained paramount and beyond reproach.

He even rode a winner in front of Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher at Towcester – on her first visit to a racecourse. As the stable amateur rider for legendary trainer David “Duke” Nicholson, he rode his talented horse Sanballat to finish ninth in the Cheltenham Foxhunters.

His success as owner/breeder was distinguished. He celebrated a famous victory at Aintree in 2019 when his horse Top Wood won the Foxhunters’ Chase, he was a part-owner of the high-class chaser Behrajan, and he showed a keen eye for bloodlines as the breeder of the Grade 1 winner Presenting Percy. 

Johnny was known by employees and peers alike as an engaging, lively, and profoundly positive man. He possessed a sharp wit and an infectious sense of fun. 

Outside racing, his interests were delightfully varied. He was a dedicated follower of both Manchester United and Leicester City, and he completed the London Marathon twice with his great friend Charles Egerton

At the centre of his world, however, was his family. He married Sophie Cliffe-Jones in 1993, and they had four children: Isabella, Jack, Max and Lara. 

He is survived also by his brother Roger, chairman of Weatherbys Bank, and his sister Clare, Lady Daresbury. 

For Johnny, the family business was a sacred trust to be preserved for the next generation, but his greatest joy was his own family.

Sir Johnny Weatherby was a rare individual who upheld the weight of a 250-year-old business legacy, while remaining entirely modern and approachable. 

He leaves British racing a more professional, more stable, and certainly a more welcoming and cheerful place than he found it. He will be deeply missed across racecourses and by racing people around the world.