Sports

Belmont strike averted

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Saturday’s Belmont Stakes — where I’ll Have Another has a chance to win horse racing’s first Triple Crown in 34 years — should go off without a hitch now that a contentious labor dispute has been settled.

The Local 3 of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers had waged a two-year war with the New York Racing Association — which was trying to control soaring overtime and health care costs — and had threatened to strike just days before the historic race.

But Gov. Cuomo called on both sides to hammer out a deal, and federal mediator David Thaler oversaw negotiations until a deal was reached early yesterday morning.

“With the potential for the nation’s first Triple Crown in more than three decades, this year’s Belmont Stakes holds particular excitement for horse racing fans here in New York and across the globe,” Cuomo said in a statement. “I am pleased that by coming together, NYRA and IBEW Local 3 have been able to forge a labor contract agreement that helps allow the much-anticipated Belmont Stakes to be held this weekend.”

Vincent McElroen, financial secretary for the union representing 150 starters and maintenance workers, said, “We’re happy that we got an agreement.”

NYRA President Ellen McClain also hailed the agreement.

“We can [now] focus exclusively on this Saturday’s Belmont Stakes and I’ll Have Another’s historic attempt to become the first Triple Crown champion since Affirmed in 1978,” she said.

Union bigs and NYRA sources had said the big race would have been run even if the workers walked out, with replacements from other tracks taking their place.

While specifics were not immediately disclosed, the administration said the deal addresses the overtime costs and concerns over soaring health care costs for both current employees and retirees.

* All 12 Belmont Stakes contenders were bedded down in the Barn 2 isolation barn by 12:04 p.m. yesterday, when I’ll Have Another was the last to arrive.

The last horse to arrive on the grounds was Union Rags, who vanned up in the morning from the Fair Hill training center in Maryland.

* Churchill Downs’s TwinSpires ADW service has credited the accounts of customers whose payouts were reduced when NYRA was skimming $8.5 million from bettors because they did not reduce the takeout on exotic wagers, as mandated by law, for 18 months.

* A liquor store on Long Island is having a “If he wins, you win” promotion. If I’ll Have Another wins the Triple Crown, buy a bottle of booze on Sunday, you get another one free.

ed.fountaine@nypost.com