Mountain View Thoroughbred Racing Association Inc history

Governance of thoroughbred racing was now provided by state commissions, although the tracks were owned and operated privately. As a result, the number of racetracks dropped to just 25 by 1908.

In 1969, he bought the Penn Title Insurance Company, then a 40-year-old business located in Wyomissing, the start of a string of businesses in that tiny town that eventually included a bank, a mortgage company, real estate ventures – and even seafood and gourmet pretzel companies.

In 1971, New York City launched its Off-Track Betting Corporation; state after state introduced lotteries; and casino gambling was legalized in Atlantic City, on riverboats, and in casinos operated by Native Americans.

While a minority partner, he financed and built Keystone Race Track in Bensalem, which opened in 1974.

In the estimation of some, Affirmed's 1978 Triple Crown win marked the last great year in thoroughbred racing.

In 1983, Penn found another way to reach out to its customers.

Moreover, the sport was hurt by the 1986 Tax Reform Act, which eliminated popular tax shelters on real estate and horse ownership, leading to a crash in the price of horses and a large number of breeders going out of business.

In 1994, the company opened a facility in Chambersburg, a mid-sized community about an hour southwest of the race course.

Two such facilities were already established--in Allentown and Erie--when the acquisition was finalized on November 27, 1996.

1997: Penn National acquires 89 percent ownership of the Charles Town Race Track in West Virginia.

By March 1998, Penn had added 209 more machines.

The early part of 1999 saw Penn National expanding into a new state.

The company acquired its first standalone casino properties in 2000, Casino Magic Bay St Louis and Boomtown Biloxi, from Pinnacle Entertainment.

By 2001, Penn National Gaming had made Fortune magazine’s 100 Fastest Growing Companies list at 58th.

In June 2002, it announced a strategic alliance with prominent European race tracks, Ascot in London and Longchamp in Paris.

Hollywood Casino Corporation in 2003 for $328 million, plus $360 million in assumed debt.

In 2004, Penn National acquired Argosy Gaming Company for $1.4 billion, plus $791 million in assumed debt.

Then came business disappointments beginning in 2006, the subject of Penn National History: Part 2.

The low, of course, came in mid-March 2020 in the face of COVID-19 restrictions, with closures, furloughs, forced real estate sales, and two emergency stock offerings for a company hemorrhaging cash in early spring as the virus took hold.