November 1962 -- Ground is broken on former farmland off Route 19 about five miles north of Washington, Pa., for the first pari-mutuel horse racing track in Western Pennsylvania, later named The Meadows, operated by the Washington Trotting Association.

June 1963 -- The Meadows is opened by The Washington Trotting Association.

February 1969 -- Mountain Laurel Racing Inc. applies for a license to race at The Meadows. Group starts racing in mid-August.

February 1973 -- The Pennsylvania Harness Racing Commission approves the sale of the Washington Trotting Association to four Western Pennsylvania businessmen, including Joseph A. Hardy of 84 Lumber fame and well-known harness trainer-driver Delvin Miller.

April 1983 -- The Meadows launches Call-A-Bet, which allows patrons to wager through personal telephone accounts.

November 1983 -- The Meadows introduces the Meadows Racing Network, a satellite television station that pumps a 12-race card into 270,000 Pennsylvania homes and complements the Call-A-Bet system.

April 1986 -- Dissident shareholder Stuart A. Williams, a partner in the Pittsburgh law firm of Eckert, Seamans, Cherin and Mellott, buys The Meadows for $5.9 million in a sealed-bid auction.

December 1988 -- England-based Ladbroke Group PLC signs a letter of intent to buy the Meadows, adjacent real estate and its two racing licenses for $17 million.

June 1990 -- The Meadows opens the state's first off-track betting parlor in New Castle.

April 2001 -- Ladbroke sells The Meadows and its 18.3 percent interest in The Racing Network to Magna Entertainment Corp. of Canada for $53 million.

July 2006 -- Magna completes the sale of The Meadows to Cannery Casino Resorts of Las Vegas for $200 million .

June 2007 -- The Meadows opens its casino in a temporary facility.

December 2007 -- Crown Limited of Australia announces the purchase, for $1.75 billion plus acquisition costs, of three casinos in Las Vegas and The Meadows Racetrack & Casino.

First Published: December 13, 2007, 3:15 p.m.