Meadows off-track betting in Harmar robbed

A man claiming to have a gun forced an employee to open the cash room at The Meadows off-track betting facility in Harmar about a hour before the facility was scheduled to open at 11 a.m. Monday, police said.

The man already was inside the locked building and surprised the employee, police said. He demanded the woman’s car keys and “barricaded her inside a room with no phone” before taking money and fleeing, Allegheny County police said in a statement.

“There were no sign of forced entry into the building and it is not clear how the robber gained entry,” police said.

County and Harmar police are reviewing video surveillance cameras at the off-track operation and nearby businesses such as Target, according to Harmar Lt. Otto Gall.

The woman told police the man had some sort of mask covering his face.

The robber is described as a black male, approximately 5 feet, 4 inches tall, with a medium build.

He was wearing a dark hooded jacket with the hood pulled up over a light colored ball cap, according to county and Harmar police.

Police said the man collected cash from the safe and placed it in a black trash bag. He then got into the woman’s 2005 Ford Escape to flee the area.

The dark gray SUV has a state wildlife conservation plate: WR 23951.

Gall said the SUV had a Slippery Rock sticker in the rear window.

“He told her he had a gun, but none was shown,” Gall said.

Gall believes it was the first time the facility has been robbed. The Meadows has been in operation in Harmar for about 22 years, he said.

Police declined to say how much money was involved.

The Meadows’ parent operation didn’t return phone calls for comment.