'History will look kindly on the Racing Channel. It revolutionised televised coverage of racing and made the sport more accessible'.

Byline: Lee Mottershead

THE decision to axe the Racing Channel was taken by the network's American owners The Racing Network International (TRNi) this month following the company's failure to secure a new rights package to Irish racing. As from tomorrow, TRNi will be responsible for the American evening coverage of Attheraces, who took away 49 of Britain's racecourses from the Racing Channel in May last year, and now has the field of direct-to-home transmission to itself.

Tonight, when TRNi regulars Dave Compton, Darryll Williams and Matt Chapman say farewell, they will not be joined by director of programming George Irvine, the man who made the idea of the Racing Channel a reality.

"I don't think I'll be there," he says. "The worst day will be that day. After seven and a half years, it will be a bit emotional. I'll leave it to somebody else."

Neither was Irvine there when the Racing Channel's afternoon slot came to an end three weeks ago, nor when the decision to wave the white flag was taken by the American-based paymasters just a few days earlier.

"I went to see my son in Hong Kong on December 27 and had no idea that the whole thing was going pear-shaped, or that I would come back to the situation that I did," explains Irvine, who had been in negotiation with the Irish authorities just three days before he left for the Far East.

"I was then celebrating my 50th birthday in Bali," he adds, "when I received a call saying, `Happy birthday, I've got some bad news for you.' Never go away for your 50th birthday - bad things can happen."

Before the bad came a lot of the good. Trying to imagine life without a dedicated channel now seems almost unthinkable. In 1995, it wasn't.

"It was pretty dire stuff," says Irvine of the debut transmission on November 6, 1995. "The first Racing News programme must have been the longest half-hour ever, but at least we were on air. As with most launches, nothing ever goes right and there were plenty of raised voices and slammed doors.

"One of the things about the Racing Channel, though, was that we were always receptive to criticism. In fact, I became friendly with a man who used to phone every day complaining - he told me that because of the number of times he rang, I was listed on his BT Friends and Family bill!"

If the early days were hectic, things soon became more professional, streamlined, efficient. And innovative.

"We started things I considered to be ground-breaking," says Irvine. "We broadcast from the racecourse as opposed to the studio; we began trainer files and 50-to-follow videos before the start of a new season; we started sponsoring whole days at racecourses, and also produced CCTV coverage at places like Aintree. We even got the first interview with Kevin Keegan after he got the England manager's job."

The Racing Channel's content, however, changed completely on May 1 last year when Attheraces made its debut, taking with it 49 of Britain's racecourses and just about every race worth showing.

"I was very, very positive," reflects Irvine. "We had two options. Either close down or continue and I went for the positive route. With the stuff from Ireland, America, South Africa and Germany, we went from being the Racing Channel to the International Racing Channel.

"We also started new elements to help keep the whole thing going with emails, text-messaging, and by introducing new guests - people who could pick winners as opposed to talk flowery. Basically, we tried to move from being a channel that was informative and entertaining to one that gave winners. We received 200-300 emails each night, so we were getting support."

That support, though, was not enough. Tonight it all ends, and the aspect that upsets Irvine most is the effect it will have on his staff.

"The most heart-wrenching thing is that people are going to lose jobs, people who have stayed loyal to us for seven years," he says.

"People say that for every door that closes another one opens - I tend to find that another just slams in your face. The one thing you can't be in this game, though, is pessimistic. Something else could crop up. I would love them all to find suitable work."

Irvine's concern for his team is understandable and is unsurprising in a man who has nurtured some exceptional front-of-camera talent.

"We introduced so many faces to racing, many of whom are now on mainstream TV," he says. "Richard Hoiles, who was new to live television when he presented the first Racing Channel programme, is just a different class. Ian Bartlett is very good, as are Bob Cooper and Mike Cattermole, while Dave Compton is an absolute star.

"We also brought on more girls than anyone else - Alice Plunkett, Miriam Francome, Emma Ramsden, Lorna Bradburne. I don't think any of them, apart perhaps from Miriam, had any broadcasting experience. Alex Hammond first came here when she was engaged to Micky, who was a guest on our morning show. She had absolutely no broadcasting experience but did a screen test at Sedgefield and the rest is history."

History will look kindly on the Racing Channel. It revolutionised televised coverage of racing and made the sport more accessible than it had ever been before. Irvine was at the heart of the revolution. Now, it's somebody else's turn.

"It's a bit like when you've had a kid," he says. "You see the birth, you see the child as a baby, then as a toddler. I was expecting to see my baby through secondary school and beyond. Now that won't happen - and I just feel empty."

CAPTION(S):

Director of Programming George Irvine at the Racing Channel's studio. It ceases to broadcast from 11.59 tonight