HPItv (Horseplayer Interactive Television) is a

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

English language English is a West Germanic language that developed in early medieval England and has since become a English as a lingua franca, global lingua franca. The namesake of the language is the Angles (tribe), Angles, one of the Germanic peoples th ...

Category B specialty network owned by

Woodbine Entertainment Group Woodbine Entertainment Group (WEG), known as the Ontario Jockey Club from 1881 to 2001, is the operator of two horse racing tracks, a casino and off-track betting stations in the Greater Toronto Area of Ontario, Canada. It also owns and operates ...

. HPItv broadcasts

thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a list of horse breeds, horse breed developed for Thoroughbred racing, horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thorough ...

standardbred The Standardbred is an American horse breed best known for its ability in harness racing where they compete at either a trot or pace. Developed in North America, the Standardbred is recognized worldwide, and the breed can trace its bloodline ...

, and

harness racing Harness racing is a form of horse racing in which the horses race at a specific gait (a trot or a pace). They usually pull a two-wheeled cart called a sulky, spider, or chariot occupied by a driver. In Europe, and less frequently in Australia ...

events and related programming.

Channels and content

HPItv consists of 4 multiplex channels: * HPItv is the network's

flagship A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of navy, naval ships, characteristically a flag officer entitled by custom to fly a distinguishing flag. Used more loosely, it is the lead ship in a fleet of vessels, typically ...

feed. It features

and

from up to four tracks at a time in a quad-split screen format. * HPItv Canada provides daily live coverage of primarily Canadian racetracks. * HPItv International provides daily live coverage from primarily U.S. racetracks. International also features Great Britain & Ireland in the mornings and Australia & Hong Kong in the evening and some overnight. * HPItv West provides daily live coverage from primarily Western racetracks in Canada and the United States.

History

In November 2000, a joint venture between The Ontario Jockey Club (90%) and BCE Media (10%) called the Ontario Jockey Club (Partnership),Decision CRTC 2001-565
CRTC 2001-09-04 was granted approval by the

Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC; ) is a public organization in Canada tasked with the mandate as a regulatory agency tribunal for various electronic communications, covering broadcasting and telecommunic ...

(CRTC) to launch a television channel called ''The Racing Network Canada'', described as "a national English-language Category 2 specialty television service dedicated to Canadian and international horse racing and horse racing related programming, including live races, related commentary, odds, replays, and results." Prior to the channel's launch, in September 2001, the Ontario Jockey Club changed its name to Woodbine Entertainment Group and purchased BCE Media's shares in the service. Later that same month, the channel was launched as The Racing Network Canada (TRN) with four multiplex channels— three devoted to live matches (Live Horse Racing Channel, Full Card Favourites - 1, and Full Card Favourites - 2) and one displaying pool odds, probables and results (Live Canadian Odds Channel). In 2004, TRN launched a fifth channel, TRN West. In March 2005, TRN was rebranded HPItv to align it with Woodbine's online and telephone wagering service, HorsePlayer Interactive (HPI). On January 11, 2017, Woodbine Entertainment Group announced that it would shutter the service on April 11, 2017, due to diminishing subscribers and rising production costs. The main channel was to continue to operate with a lighter track load until the scheduled closing date, and on minimal staff. Despite the intended closure of the channel, the HPItv Canada, HPItv International, and HPItv West feeds, which operate under a pay-per-view (PPV) licence agreement, would continue to be offered to television service providers. On February 27, 2017, Woodbine Entertainment Group announced that it was reversing its decision to discontinue the service, citing feedback from horseplayers and racing fans. Despite not shuttering the service entirely, only the HPItv Odds channel would be shuttered on May 1, 2017, while the flagship channel, HPItv, would remain on the air in a revised format which launched on March 1, 2017, whereby the live feed of up to four tracks will be displayed simultaneously on a new quad-split screen format throughout the racing day and evening. This eliminated the need for the staff running the original channel that switched between tracks throughout the day. The 3 remaining PPV channels would remain on air displaying one track at a time, as was always the format.HPItv to remain in TV lineup
WEG 02 27 17

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hpitv English-language television stations in Canada Sports television networks in Canada Television channels and stations established in 2001 Specialty television channels in Canada