by Evan Pattak, for The Meadows

Washington, PA — The Meadows announced today that its 2010 cable signal will reach approximately 530,000 Comcast cable TV homes, an increase of roughly 237,000 (69.3 percent) from total Comcast homes reached the previous year.

Meadows Racing President Mike Jeannot said the agreement with Comcast, the dominant cable operator in the region, spans nine southwestern Pennsylvania counties.

“We are delighted to partner with Comcast in expanding coverage of our live racing in our primary viewing area,” he said. “We will be able to introduce and promote harness racing to a broader audience, creating many new fans for The Meadows and our sport.”

He noted that the expanded coverage also will enable most Meadows horsemen and their families to view the track’s live racing via Comcast, representing a new opportunity for some of them.

The Meadows signal will be available, beginning with today’s season-opening card, on two Comcast channels, Digital Channel 190 and Digital Channel 182, according to this breakdown by cable system:

Digital Channel 190: Beaver Falls, Canonsburg, City of Pittsburgh, Coraopolis, Greensburg, Kiskiminetas, Parks/Elderton/Rural Valley, Penn Hills, Pittsburgh suburbs, Tarentum/West Deer, Washington/Waynesburg.

Digital Channel 182: Bethel Park, Blairsville, Kittanning, Latrobe, Monroeville, New Castle, Plum, Rochester.

Viewers at home can bet on The Meadows action via the XpressBet account wagering service.

The Meadows will offer four live cards per week in January and will introduce a daily Pick 6 wager with a $6,000 guaranteed pool. Post time Monday-Wednesday is 12:55 p.m. while Friday cards begin at 3:55 p.m.