TVG lays off some staff

[Seattle Slew]

I'm sure TVG didn't even consider dropping either of the two females.

michelle gets more hits on her than a 6-pack of dunk-em clowns at the carnivals.

[nyplayer33]

exactly seattle slew, the females are v good for tvg. Christina is overrated in my view....according to someone i trust about year ago paul Laduca formally of the ny mets asked christina out and she denied his request. I'd take a day in the handicapsule with Michelle as a dream of mine to come true..she has the goods

[JakeLc]

Those 2 won't be fired anytime soon

[wtt0315]

speaking of curuthers hes alive to a 600 pick 4 at tampa right now needing the 9

[Poppa Catfish]

speaking of curuthers hes alive to a 600 pick 4 at tampa right now needing the 9

and he only had to go 4 + deep in all three races leading up to get there , and of course it didn't end up all that great for him.

[BuckeyeT]

Curuthers needs to go the the quarters cuz all he picks is speed horses.

[Seattle Slew]

She's just as bad as everyone else picking horses. She just looks good picking losers, so she gets a pass.

I forgot about LeDuca. Unless he's just summer help, I wonder if he'll ever be back?

I remember when Bryan Cox was a handicapper on TVG.

exactly seattle slew, the females are v good for tvg. Christina is overrated in my view....according to someone i trust about year ago paul Laduca formally of the ny mets asked christina out and she denied his request. I'd take a day in the handicapsule with Michelle as a dream of mine to come true..she has the goods

[callmejrk1]

exactly why we have a mute button

[JakeLc]

Gary Seibel gets the axe.

[Seattle Slew]

Nice job by TVG stretching the layoffs over several days.

[gregm]

TVG is unreal. I thought this company would change horse racing in America when I saw it on Dish many years ago. Right before the Kentucky derby, I will love watching the coverage on the major networks this year.

[JakeLc]

Seibel is being inducted into the Hall of Fame in July and now they have Michell Yu now doing harness racing at MTV... I mean TVG.

[dugbug15]

tvg will wind up freefalling into oblivion,if they continue with their current trend.who can trust them to handle their customer needs and wants? my guess is not their customers or their sponsers.

[orioles]

Seibel actually knew what he was talking about.
Plus they had Dave Brower who knew his stuff. Quarter a bet. Then they want 7.95 a month to watch video on line. And they have rude cs.

[madmaxx]

Can't believe they cut Seibel and kept all of the morons on The Quarters. Baedeker had gone senile and would hit 2 of 6 on his $100+ pick6 tickets any time "pick 6 central" was on. I remember one show he asked Greg Wolf to come over and his house decorate for Christmas while Mr B was on vacation...gave him specific directions and everything....was a really awkward segment.

I hate Simon the most as he feels it necessary to finish everyone's sentence. Perloff is knowledgeable but will be gone soon as he doesn't have much personality outside of talking shit to the e-mailers. I used to think Christina O was hot but she's getting annoying and is a horrid handicapper. Nancy Ury is pretty bad too. I used to think HRTV was unwatchable in comparison but TVG is making so many bad personnel decisions lately. Anyone remember Michelle Arnold who they had on for a bit doing random segments? She still has a video on YouTube with her cell number on it, guess TVG didn't propel her career; Michelle Yu made a better impression.

[megamillionslose]

TVG pet peeves

If a TVG employee touting picks doesn't have real money on it please STFU!Also i don't give a mother f about the horse's breeding nor the time they ran unless it was something out of the ordinary.Casinos are slowly taking over the USA racetracks.Twenty years from now half of the racetracks will be shuttered in favor of instant profit slot machines!

[robmpink]

If a TVG employee touting picks doesn't have real money on it please STFU!Also i don't give a mother f about the horse's breeding nor the time they ran unless it was something out of the ordinary.Casinos are slowly taking over the USA racetracks.Twenty years from now half of the racetracks will be shuttered in favor of instant profit slot machines!

I hear you guy, but do you think this job would entail you to make real $$ bets? They may be handicappers, but before that, they are tv personalities for which they get paid.

[gregm]

I hear you guy, but do you think this job would entail you to make real $$ bets? They may be handicappers, but before that, they are tv personalities for which they get paid.

Totally agree, listening to commentary right before a race can cost you a fortune. Alot of them just throw out picks for every race because they have to, its part of the entertainment factor.

If they were really wagering money they would just have tons of races where there were no picks at all. Why even pick a horse on a sloppy track where the are 12-13 horses and up running, but it would be like not picking a horse during the derby, they have to pick somebody. I can't imagine a handicapper saying look these 13 or 14-17 horse races with no clear favorite , you may as as well just play the lottery or try and hit a futures bet in the nba playoffs. Better chances.

TVG better get its act together , its amazing how poor the coverage has become. hrtv and versus has the kentucky derby undercard coverage before NBC takes over.

[robmpink]

Totally agree, listening to commentary right before a race can cost you a fortune. Alot of them just throw out picks for every race because they have to, its part of the entertainment factor.

If they were really wagering money they would just have tons of races where there were no picks at all. Why even pick a horse on a sloppy track where the are 12-13 horses and up running, but it would be like not picking a horse during the derby, they have to pick somebody. I can't imagine a handicapper saying look these 13 or 14-17 horse races with no clear favorite , you may as as well just play the lottery or try and hit a futures bet in the nba playoffs. Better chances.

TVG better get its act together , its amazing how poor the coverage has become. hrtv and versus has the kentucky derby undercard coverage before NBC takes over.

Plus, think about it. If they really had a solid pick 4, why give it out to the masses if they were going to bet it? It would only devalue the comeback for them.

[balls2wall]

I am new to horse racing and have been watching TVG since I started about a month ago.

I saw the guy that looks like Chris Farley for the first time this weekend. I keep waiting for him to stand up, adjust his pants and break a table or something.

With that being said, he seemed to be pretty good from what I saw. Is he decent? What is his name?

[zebra58]

Plus, think about it. If they really had a solid pick 4, why give it out to the masses if they were going to bet it? It would only devalue the comeback for them.

tracks give all adws a bigger cut on pk4s bets

[JakeLc]

The hosts job is to get you to bet pick 4 tickets using your TVG account.

[DennisT]

dugbug15 Well done very well done indeed!!!!!

[Foosball Champ]

[COLOR=#000000 !important]The guys they fired don't do silly antics on the air, that's why they were fired.[/COLOR]

[Foosball Champ]

I'm glad to see that this is not the usual TVG bashing thread. They aren't perfect, but I believe they have done much more to help racing than to hurt it. It was awful to see a thread of the same topic on another site have members gloating about these layoffs. Just awful in my opionion. I have similar experiences as others when meeting the crew live. I met Simon Bray, Todd Schrupp, Frank Lyons, Ken Rudolph, Greg Wolf and Vic Stauffer at Del Mar in 2005. Every one of them was a 100 percent class act. They are really ambassadors for racing. I swear, my friend Hajck Hillstrom seems to know all of these guys personally and was even picking them up at the airport when they come to Seattle.

Some improvements that I wish TVG would make, especially if they are trying to gain and develop new fans:

* Don't be so beholden to DRF and using the racing form to handicap. Acknowledge that are professional products such HTR and others available to handicap quickly and effectively.

* Less harness. Maybe it is just me, but I can't believe people bet on that stuff

* Never miss showing a race live unless the races fall on top of each other.

* Call out SoCal and other track execs who are harming the game. I realize they are in a difficult situation in that it is those same track execs that they have to negotiate signal, fees, etc with, but they basically ignore the subject altogether.

* Stop pushing their Pick 4 tickets so much. Sure it is a great bet, but not for beginners and not all the time.

Like I said, I don't like the personal shots taken against the TVG hosts, but they could make some general improvements. I hope that Mr. B, Chris K. and the many other off camera employees land on their feet soon.

[JakeLc]

TVG= schtick over substance

[balls2wall]

I'm glad to see that this is not the usual TVG bashing thread. They aren't perfect, but I believe they have done much more to help racing than to hurt it. It was awful to see a thread of the same topic on another site have members gloating about these layoffs. Just awful in my opionion. I have similar experiences as others when meeting the crew live. I met Simon Bray, Todd Schrupp, Frank Lyons, Ken Rudolph, Greg Wolf and Vic Stauffer at Del Mar in 2005. Every one of them was a 100 percent class act. They are really ambassadors for racing. I swear, my friend Hajck Hillstrom seems to know all of these guys personally and was even picking them up at the airport when they come to Seattle.

Some improvements that I wish TVG would make, especially if they are trying to gain and develop new fans:

* Don't be so beholden to DRF and using the racing form to handicap. Acknowledge that are professional products such HTR and others available to handicap quickly and effectively.

* Less harness. Maybe it is just me, but I can't believe people bet on that stuff

* Never miss showing a race live unless the races fall on top of each other.

* Call out SoCal and other track execs who are harming the game. I realize they are in a difficult situation in that it is those same track execs that they have to negotiate signal, fees, etc with, but they basically ignore the subject altogether.

* Stop pushing their Pick 4 tickets so much. Sure it is a great bet, but not for beginners and not all the time.

Like I said, I don't like the personal shots taken against the TVG hosts, but they could make some general improvements. I hope that Mr. B, Chris K. and the many other off camera employees land on their feet soon.

Like I said, I am new to horse racing as of the last month or two. I probably would have never joined a site or placed a bet on a horse (let alone the hundreds I have) if it wasn't for TVG. I kept seeing it on tv and got interested since I love to gamble.


I personally like the schtick. There obviously needs to be substance too, but if it was just serious horse racing talk the whole time it would be boring as hell. If one wants the sport to grow it has to be entertaining to bring people into it. Seeing some 60 year old guy breaking down races for 2 hours without ever cracking a smile or trying to lighten things up a bit is not the way to go, IMO.

I don't think your serious cappers who already know their stuff like a lot of you guys is who it is aimed at. I think it is probably aimed at people like me who don't already know all the ropes and are kind of new to it and not your "seasoned veterans." As always, I could be wrong.


I have seen posts around here about how the sport is dying and mostly old people at the tracks. I think TVG is aimed at younger people who are not going to the tracks. If anyone wants them to cater to the blue hair crowd that is dying off then have them turn it into a serious handicapping show.


That is just my opinion and like I said, I am a horse racing noob so I don't know a whole lot about it.

[Poppa Catfish]

Like I said, I am new to horse racing as of the last month or two. I probably would have never joined a site or placed a bet on a horse (let alone the hundreds I have) if it wasn't for TVG. I kept seeing it on tv and got interested since I love to gamble.


I personally like the schtick. There obviously needs to be substance too, but if it was just serious horse racing talk the whole time it would be boring as hell. If one wants the sport to grow it has to be entertaining to bring people into it. Seeing some 60 year old guy breaking down races for 2 hours without ever cracking a smile or trying to lighten things up a bit is not the way to go, IMO.

I don't think your serious cappers who already know their stuff like a lot of you guys is who it is aimed at. I think it is probably aimed at people like me who don't already know all the ropes and are kind of new to it and not your "seasoned veterans." As always, I could be wrong.


I have seen posts around here about how the sport is dying and mostly old people at the tracks. I think TVG is aimed at younger people who are not going to the tracks. If anyone wants them to cater to the blue hair crowd that is dying off then have them turn it into a serious handicapping show.


That is just my opinion and like I said, I am a horse racing noob so I don't know a whole lot about it.

Great post, I'm of like mind. I'm also new into the horse game, and it is primarily TVG to blame. Occasionally some of the talent pushes the envelope, mainly talking about Todd, and forgets any and all substance, but by and large I enjoy their broadcasts.

[Poppa Catfish]

I'm glad to see that this is not the usual TVG bashing thread. They aren't perfect, but I believe they have done much more to help racing than to hurt it. It was awful to see a thread of the same topic on another site have members gloating about these layoffs. Just awful in my opionion. I have similar experiences as others when meeting the crew live. I met Simon Bray, Todd Schrupp, Frank Lyons, Ken Rudolph, Greg Wolf and Vic Stauffer at Del Mar in 2005. Every one of them was a 100 percent class act. They are really ambassadors for racing. I swear, my friend Hajck Hillstrom seems to know all of these guys personally and was even picking them up at the airport when they come to Seattle.

Some improvements that I wish TVG would make, especially if they are trying to gain and develop new fans:

* Don't be so beholden to DRF and using the racing form to handicap. Acknowledge that are professional products such HTR and others available to handicap quickly and effectively.

* Less harness. Maybe it is just me, but I can't believe people bet on that stuff

* Never miss showing a race live unless the races fall on top of each other.

* Call out SoCal and other track execs who are harming the game. I realize they are in a difficult situation in that it is those same track execs that they have to negotiate signal, fees, etc with, but they basically ignore the subject altogether.

* Stop pushing their Pick 4 tickets so much. Sure it is a great bet, but not for beginners and not all the time.

Like I said, I don't like the personal shots taken against the TVG hosts, but they could make some general improvements. I hope that Mr. B, Chris K. and the many other off camera employees land on their feet soon.

another quality post, great discussion in this thread.

Since as another poster stated, TVG is more geared towards a newer crowd, they really should also gear their picks accordingly. Less pick 4s would be great, though I do admit Pick 4s often create a nice story line that fits television very well.

I would appreciate less of the same generic filler when they are light on races, no I don't need to see the same Soldat promo for the 14th time. Instead show a couple of back tracks for the next upcoming race, or get a mechanical horse and have Michelle give riding lessons in slow motion until the next post time, or something. That generic filler doesn't entertain, inform, or really serve any other purpose other than kill time. Instead this is a golden opportunity to insert some entertainment or really solid information.

[AbeFroman]

Agree with pretty much everything posted this far. Poppa Cat makes a great point; if anyone watched coverage on Sunday, there was so much generic filler it was absurd. I believe I saw the Soldat promo he references at least 5 times.

One thing that does bother me about the network is sometimes their feature tracks for wagering aren't always the ones they hit the hardest. For example, tonight is their Tuesday Night Under the Lights gig with 3x reward points or whatever for betting at Penn and Chuckytown, and yet through 3 races at Penn, they gave no picks but flashing up the hosts Pick 3 right before the race was about to go off. Maybe it will get better as the night goes on and Chuckytown starts running, but not impressed by that thus far.

[JakeLc]

HRTV if you want substance, TVG is you want schtick.

[Poppa Catfish]

Agree with pretty much everything posted this far. Poppa Cat makes a great point; if anyone watched coverage on Sunday, there was so much generic filler it was absurd. I believe I saw the Soldat promo he references at least 5 times.

One thing that does bother me about the network is sometimes their feature tracks for wagering aren't always the ones they hit the hardest. For example, tonight is their Tuesday Night Under the Lights gig with 3x reward points or whatever for betting at Penn and Chuckytown, and yet through 3 races at Penn, they gave no picks but flashing up the hosts Pick 3 right before the race was about to go off. Maybe it will get better as the night goes on and Chuckytown starts running, but not impressed by that thus far.

Have you heard that Soldat loves the slop? That is at least the rumor I dun heard.

[Seattle Slew]

TVG is better than nothing. You can tune out the talk and just watch the races.

They have Keeneland starting on Friday.

[balls2wall]

or get a mechanical horse and have Michelle give riding lessons in slow motion until the next post time, or something.

LOL, I love it