Metro

Whoa there!

Gov. Cuomo and the leaders of the Legislature are considering plans to rein in and reorganize the scandal-scarred New York Racing Association in the wake of a state report showing NYRA cheated bettors out of $8 million.

“This may well be the straw that broke the camel’s back,’’ said a source familiar with the discussions.

“This was a banner year for NYRA, making money for the new Genting casino, and still this happens?’’ the source continued, referring to the massive new “racino’’ that opened last fall at the Aqueduct Racetrack under the operation of international casino operator Genting.

The source said aides to the governor and the legislative leaders have discussed a measure that would give the state greater say over NYRA’s operations and create a stronger oversight panel than the one that already exists.

“There is a clear recognition by everybody that we have to sit down and determine how to take greater control over NYRA,’’ Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver (D-Manhattan) told The Post.

While the source said efforts were being made to reach an agreement before the Legislature adjourns next month, he said no agreement had yet been reached.

NYRA, which also operates the Belmont and Saratoga racetracks, fired its two top executives last week after a state report concluded that its officials had known for more than a year that winning bettors were being overcharged, yet took no action to stop it.

The latest scandal comes despite the fact that some association’s activities are overseen by a state Franchise Oversight Board, and eight of its 23 member board of directors are appointed by state officials.

NYRA has faced bankruptcy and criminal charges in recent years, permanently tarnishing the reputation of the once-highly respected but long cash-strapped racing organization.

Cuomo is backing legislation on legalized casino gambling in the state — at a time that Genting has offered to build a $4 billion convention center at Aqueduct that would include a greatly expanded casino-style complex.

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Look for Gov. Cuomo to be given credit for the remarkable complex that will be celebrated tomorrow when President Obama pays a job-touting visit to the State University at Albany’s extraordinary College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering.

Gov. Mario M. Cuomo that is.

The father of the current governor designated SUNY’s Albany campus — which has spawned billions of dollars in investment by joining high-tech private-sector companies like IBM — a Center for Advanced Technology in 1993, and provided the initial state money that led to the hiring of CNSE’s current president, Dr. Alain Kaloyeros.

“Success has many fathers. I think a founding father of this success happened to be my father,’’ Cuomo declared last fall.

Kaloyeros has emerged as an important advisor to the current Gov. Cuo–mo on high-tech industrial-development projects across the state.

Nearly 3,000 people work at the CNSE’s futuristic complex, and hundreds more are on the way.

fredric.dicker@nypost.com