LINING UP AT THE STARTING GATE: TVG SET TO MAKE ITS DEBUT

          The Television Games Network (TVG) is set to debut July
     14 in 1.1 million homes with financial backing from TV
     Guide, TCI and Fox, and will offer "about five" horse races
     an hour, according to Mark Alesia of CBS SportsLine.  TVG VP
     Rick Baedeker said that the net also plans to produce
     "SportsCenter/MTV-quality" news and features programs.  The
     NTRA has "thrown its weight behind the venture" and calls it
     "the most promising potential source of future economic
     growth for the industry in many years."  Alesia noted that
     the alliance with the NTRA has "created a rift between big
     tracks and small tracks," as The Racing Network (TRN)
     "already brings racetrack signals into homes via a satellite
     system purchased from the NTRA."  But NTRA VP/Communications
     Chip Tuttle defended the backing of TVG.  Tuttle: "The idea
     is that with all the channel surfing ... there's a better
     chance of getting a sports fan to stop on a place with a
     fan-friendly, informative style."  TVG "insists it will help
     the minor league markets ... because part of the betting
     dollar will go to local tracks" (CBS SportsLine, 7/2).