JON BARNETT
“2021 IS GOING TO BE VERY SPECIAL”
Dave Yates
Goodwood Racecourse Director Jon Barnett has yet to oversee a fixture with crowds, but that hasn’t dimmed his enthusiasm for his role. Here he reflects with Dave Yates on the challenges of the last 12 months, including a £1.5m deficit, but how hopes are high for the year ahead.
B
y his own admission, Jon Barnett isn’t a wizard with the Form Book. “Occasionally, I get asked things like, ‘What do you think of Stradivarius
this year?’” reveals Goodwood’s Racecourse Director. “I’m not the person to ask!” But Barnett wasn’t appointed to the role – he
moved from Goodwood Motor Circuit at the start of 2020 – because of his ability to recall from memory the career record of John Gosden’s star stayer. “My remit, even in the motor sport world, was about delivering amazing events as opposed to knowing a Lamborghini versus a Ferrari versus a Maserati. “I love the thrill of all sport, the cheers of the
crowd. That’s what makes events fun.” In short, the 55-year-old’s skill is creating the experience that brings customers back through the
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racecourse gates. And that’s the sticking point for Barnett’s first year in the job. Thanks to COVID-19, there weren’t any customers. As the Cheltenham Festival moved through its
third day last March, Prime Minister Boris Johnson warned a press conference of the “invisible enemy”. The following Tuesday, fixtures at Taunton and
Wetherby took place behind closed doors, but racing went into abeyance the very next day. The blackout lasted 74 days until June 1, by which
time four of Goodwood’s 19 days scheduled for last season had already been lost to the crisis. It was possible to stage 13 cards, including all five days of the Qatar Goodwood Festival – ‘Glorious Goodwood’ – and, although owners were able to attend all but two, members and racegoers were
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