In 1999 Colorado’s Ocean Journey opened amid big fanfare. After all, to be a first class city it is necessary to have every sort of museum, including an aquarium. The facility opened in June 1999 and by 2002 the aquarium declared bankruptcy.

People raised an uproar. You’d have thought the Broncos said they were exploring moving to North Dakota. Of course, when the same people were asked how often they visited the aquarium, they’d give answers like, once a year or three times total. Perhaps it didn’t occur to them that there was a direct connection between actually going to the aquarium and its economic survival.

The problem was solved in 2002 when the aquarium was sold to a restaurant chain and reopened as the Denver Aquarium, complete with a restaurant, bar and large ballroom. If you can’t make a living as a cultural attraction, go for the entertainment value.

I thought about that when the announcement was made that TVG was operationally merging with HRTV. In reality, TVG was going to be in charge and would make the decisions on personalities and programming.

TVG was in nearly twice as many homes as HRTV, and had the deep pockets of Betfair Group to rely on. HRTV was destined to struggle and it was a good business move for the Stronach Group to cast the network off. HRTV had the advantage of exclusive rights to some tracks – most notably this winter Gulfstream Park – but without the viewership TVG had, HRTV was always running harder just to keep TVG in sight.

Based on the social media response, HRTV was beloved and TVG seen as some sort of huckster operation. I’ll admit I rarely watched either of them, preferring the direct track feeds, but I’ve viewed both often enough to see the points on both sides. HRTV had more of a workingman’s feel, while TVG had a slicker operation. Remember Ken Rudoloph? Mr. Giacomo himself? As a handicapper he looked good in a suit. Since Bob Baedeker was given the boot in 2011, I’m not sure TVG has the murderers row of handicapping talent.

It appears that the TVG is designed to appeal more to beginners and perhaps the coveted younger generation that is just as concerned with having hosts entertain them as with expert selection advice. I’ve mentioned this before – the only people with the time to watch TVG all day and the money to bet are in a generation or two older than Gino Buccola and Britney Eurton. I have a feeling that if TVG looks to appeal to the older generation, it is through Super Beta Prostate commercials.

Let’s be realistic. TVG is owned by a betting company with the express purpose of getting people to part with their money through their betting site. Much of their content focuses on making selections. Just before a race is going off they will do what I often do when someone asks me about a horse thay are going to bet – I’ll agree with the other person, although with varying degrees of conviction. It’s a lot easier and you keep more friends than you would by laughing at their pick. TVG will also make a case for five or six horses, including some hopeless nags. TVG is  especially promotional when it comes to complex vertical picks, the real betting moneymakers. Did you ever notice the only time you ever hear how TVG did with their Pick-4 advice is when they hit a ticket? And that is not a daily occurrence. I’ve written at length how the multi-race wagers are often poor choices for handicappers looking to make longer term profit, but many horseplayers find it hard to stay away from the lottery style bets. The first time you exhibit discipline and avoid playing a Pick-4 ticket, it’s going to come in and pay four figures.

Last week TVG ecstatically tweeted out that Simon Bray had nailed two Pick-4 tickets on the same day. In the first one he invested $37.50 to catch a $77 payoff. In the second he invested $32 to collect $50. I responded to their tweet that in the first case, Bray would have collected $104 by betting $37 on his single to win and that in the first case he was collecting 6/5 on his investment, in the second case 3/5. To Bray’s credit he favorited my response, although I’m not sure if he was just tickled someone noticed or he appreciated me pointing out the folly of those bets.

HRTV seemed a lot more about the horses than the on air talent. You get the sense HRTV was more interested in the older, experienced handicappers, while TVG was looking for more of a novice crowd. Let’s face it – Jeff Seigel from HRTV was never going to compete for the “cute in a suit” award, but he was a better handicapper than TVG has used on air for a while. Both networks had their place, and that is really the downside of the merger. They weren’t the same and the loss of choice is not good for horseracing.

Horseracing has always been schizophrenic. It’s gambling…no, it’s a sport. It is caught up currently in a great fight for long term survival and the one thing it cannot do is alienate a segment of its betting population, even if that segment is less of a daily target. If TVG wants to capture the imaginations of the young and the old, the novices and the experts, then they need to provide programming that doesn’t too often deteriorate into banter.  They need to help the novices to move toward expert and convince the experts they have insight and information that will supplement their own. They need to be less California oriented and give equal enthusiasm to big and small tracks across the country.

There are still two channels. They have to find a way to use them to build the sport as much as build the revenues of Betfair. It won’t be easy, but anything worth doing rarely is.