[6] Barney Roy made his racecourse debut in a maiden race over one mile at Haydock Park on 24 September and started at odds of 9/1 in a ten-runner field.

Barney Roy made his seasonal debut in the Greenham Stakes (a major trial race for the 2000 Guineas) over seven furlongs at Newbury Racecourse on 22 April.

After tracking the leaders, Barney Roy overtook Dream Castle to assume the lead inside the final furlong and stayed on well to win by two lengths.

Despite being regarded as a potential Epsom Derby contender, Barney Roy was kept to a mile and reappeared in the St James's Palace Stakes at Royal Ascot on 20 June.

The other six runners were Thunder Snow, Rivet, Lancaster Bomber (fourth in the 2000 Guineas), Peace Envoy (Rochestown Stakes), Forest Ranger and Mr Scaramanga.

On 21 October the colt started 9/2 second favourite for the Champion Stakes at Ascot but ran poorly and finished ninth of the ten runners, seventeen lengths behind the winner Cracksman.

Ridden by William Buick he started the 6/4 favourite and took the lead approaching the final furlong but was overtaken in the closing stages and beaten a neck by the four-year-old Zaaki.

[15] At Royal Ascot on 18 June the gelding was made 5/1 favourite for the Queen Anne Stakes but never looked likely to win and came home eighth of the sixteen runners behind Lord Glitters.

Barney Roy spent the winter of 2019/20 at Godolphin's training base in Dubai and began his campaign in the Group 2 Al Rashidiya over 1800 metres on turf at Meydan Racecourse on 30 January.

[17] On 7 March over the same course and distance Barney Roy went off the odds-on favourite for the Group 1 Jebel Hatta and won "easily" by a length and a quarter from the mare Magic Lily after taking the lead in the straight.

On his return to Europe, Barney Roy contested the Group 1 Prince of Wales's Stakes which was run behind closed doors at Royal Ascot on 17 June and finished third behind Lord North and Addeybb.

In the Group 1 Bayerisches Zuchtrennen over 2000 metres on rain-softened ground at Munich on 26 July he started favourite in a seven-runner field which also included Patrick Sarsfield (Meld Stakes), Durance (Gran Premio di Milano) and Quest The Moon (Grosser Preis der Badischen Wirtschaft).

After being restrained by Buick in the early stages the gelding made progress along the inside rail in the straight, took the lead 100 metres from the finish, and won by a neck from Quest The Moon.

"[22] Barney Roy was stepped up in distance for the Preis Von Europa over 2400 metres at Cologne in August but failed to reproduce his best form on the soft ground and came home fourth of the seven runners, beaten one and a half lengths behind the winner Donjah.

On 13 September, over the same distance, the gelding contested the Group 1 Grosser Preis von Baden and in which he was ridden by James Doyle and started the 4/1 second favourite behind the Deutsches Derby runner-up Torquator Tasso in an eight-runner field which also included Donjah, Quest The Moon and Communique (Princess of Wales's Stakes).