TVG

Officials at TVG have announced that members of the Del Mar riding colony will collaborate with the network to enhance its daily coverage of horse racing. Hall of Fame jockey Mike Smith, who has appeared in commercial endorsements for TVG in the past, will be joined by his colleagues Umberto Rispoli, Flavien Prat and Jessica Pyfer in contributing to broadcasts, social media content and overall online presence. In addition to periodically wearing cameras on their helmets during races, all the jockeys will make appearances as special guests on the network...

Southern California native Kevin Grigsby, the Executive Producer and Senior Vice President of Television at FanDuel Group & TVG, doesn't give a lot of interviews. "It's a personal preference of mine," says Grigsby. "I love having the network speak for itself, more so than I like to speak for the network." But when the Del Mar meet opens Friday, the network will kick off a comprehensive programming schedule that includes hundreds of hours of live coverage, seven on-air talent, dozens of cameras, and new technology, and so Grigsby has come...

TVG will introduce two familiar faces to its broadcast team this summer, the network announced today. Larry Collmus, best known as the voice of the Triple Crown on NBC, will join the TVG broadcast team for select days at Monmouth Park, and NBC Sports broadcast personality and international racing expert Nick Luck, a staple of horse racing coverage in both the UK and US, will be part of the TVG's special coverage of the iconic Royal Ascot meet from June 15-18. "We are very excited to have both Larry and...

TVG has unveiled significant improvements to its wagering app (available for both Apple and Android) and has added on-demand GI Kentucky Derby-related content to its OTT WatchTVG app (for Roku, Amazon Fire TV and Apple TV). "Our team is always looking at ways to improve the wagering experience for TVG customers and to reinvest in technology upgrades to improve the customer experience and make it easier for new fans," said Kip Levin, CEO of TVG. "These enhanced wagering and handicapping features on our mobile app are the latest example of...

TVG and Keeneland have reached an agreement that extends their longstanding partnership through at least 2026. As part of the agreement, TVG will retain exclusive broadcast rights for Keeneland's race meets as well as non-exclusive wagering rights for Keeneland's races. The network will share broadcast rights for select special events with NBC Sports. In addition, FanDuel group will promote Keeneland's racing to its more than 10 million Daily Fantasy Sports and sports book customers as the company further integrates promotion of horse racing with its sports book and daily fantasy...

For the first time since introducing the promotion in 2017, TVG will offer a mandatory payout in its free-to-play Super 8 contest with a $250,000 jackpot this week. If more than one contestant picks the highest number of winners, those contestants will win equal shares of the $250,000 prize. TVG will announce which races will be part of the Super 8 sequence later this week. This is the first year TVG has included a carryover component to the Super 8, adding $25,000 per week as the jackpot builds from $100,000....

With active hands-on experience in two arenas in racing--television and presentation as well as horsemanship--Christina Blacker is one of a handful of people in the industry with that variety of perspective. Tuesday morning, the TVG reporter, analyst and host joined the TDN Writers' Room presented by Keeneland for an expansive discussion on growing the sport. Calling in via Zoom as the Green Group Guest of the Week, Blacker also talked about the triumph of her husband Dan's recent first Grade I winner as a trainer and her I Am Horse...

The 50th Annual Eclipse Awards, presented by Spendthrift Farm, will air live on TVG and Racetrack Television Network Thursday, Jan. 28, beginning at 8 p.m. ET., and also streamed on other outlets and platforms. This year's ceremony will be a virtual telecast. NBC Sports' Kenny Rice will anchor the program from Lexington, and will be joined by many fellow Eclipse Awards' masters of ceremonies and presenters from the past 20 years. Britney Eurton and Jeannine Edwards will present from historic Spendthrift Farm, home to some of racing's greatest champions. Acacia...

Last week, the Thoroughbred Owners of California (TOC) announced a roughly $15-million, two-year "purse enhancement" program as part of an agreement with TVG, the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club and The Stronach Group's 1/ST Racing. The reason for the new program is simple: an unprecedented betting shift toward ADW platforms over the past 11 months has hit the California purse account hard. Not just the purse account. This shift has similarly clobbered several key industry programs that rely heavily on wagering made at brick and mortar venues. The Southern California Stabling...

TVG will televise live the announcement of the finalists for the 2020 Eclipse Award Saturday at noon ET. TVG also will televise live the 50th Eclipse Awards ceremony, presented by Spendthrift Farm, Thursday, Jan. 28 at 8 p.m. ET. The ceremony also will be streamed on additional outlets. The Eclipse Awards, honoring excellence in Thoroughbred racing, are voted upon by NTRA, represented by member racetrack racing officials and Equibase field personnel, NTWAB and Daily Racing Form, and are produced by the NTRA.

TVG premiers a special feature Saturday, Jan. 2 which will focus on the impact COVID-19 had on the global horse racing industry. The 2020 retrospective will air at approximately 5:30p.m. ET/2:30 p.m. PT. To watch a one-minute preview, click here. Saturday coverage, hosted by Todd Schrupp, Christina Blacker and Britney Eurton, will feature a nine-race card from Santa Anita, highlighted by the GIII San Gabriel S. and the GIII Sham S. The 2020 renewal of the Sham S. was won by Authentic, who went on to win the GI Kentucky...

Dual 2020 Grade I winner Vekoma (Candy Ride {Arg}), the heavy favorite for Saturday's GI Breeders' Cup Sprint, has been scratched from the race after spiking a fever, it was announced early Wednesday morning by trainer George Weaver. "Last night, the horse spiked a fever on us," Weaver told TVG, "and we needed to treat him with the doctor last night and he just wasn't fit to go train today. Being this close to a race, he's not fit to run either so we're not going to be able to...