THE MUDDER CUP? HORSE OWNERS EYEING MORE TV TIME FOR SPORT

          Several "big-time horse owners are eager to drastically
     restructure the sagging sport of thoroughbred racing,"
     according to Langdon Brockinton of INSIDE MEDIA.  The center
     of the owners' plan is a proposed centralized organization,
     the National Thoroughbred Association (NTA).  Int'l Sports
     and Entertainment Strategies (ISES), based in Atlanta and
     Greenwich, CT, has been hired to develop a business plan for
     the NTA.  Brockinton: "A key component of that blueprint is
     the development of much-needed television exposure for the
     sport."  ISES has started to seek programming time on
     broadcast and cable networks, aiming to secure 30 hours of
     live racing onto broadcast networks and a weekly feature-
     oriented magazine show onto cable for '98.  ISES' goal is to
     create an "NTA Races of the Week" package to air on
     broadcast networks from January to February through October. 
     One industry source says that networks "are going to want to
     see some more specifics before committing the programming
     time" (INSIDE MEDIA, 3/12 issue).