By Mathew Murphy
NEW YORK, June 5 (Reuters) – New York Governor Andrew Cuomo
urged workers at New York’s Belmont Park on Tuesday to settle a
labor dispute ahead of Saturday’s Stakes horse race, when
thoroughbred I’ll Have Another is aiming to win the sport’s
first Triple Crown in more than 30 years.
More than 150 maintenance and starting gate employees have
been locked in a labor dispute with the New York Racing
Association over wages and health care benefits since 2010.
Cuomo called for both sides to sort out the dispute.
“This year’s Belmont Stakes has the potential to be a truly
remarkable event, attracting worldwide attention and millions of
dollars of economic activity,” he said in a statement. “It is
simply unacceptable that a two-year-long labor dispute would
imperil this special event.”
The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 3
voted more than a week ago to strike at the Belmont, Aqueduct
and Saratoga race tracks but did not set a specific strike date.
On Monday, the NYRA issued a statement saying union leaders
“believe their demands are more important than a historic day
for 100,000 fans.”
Union representatives were not immediately available for
comment.
Having won the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness Stakes horse
races, 3-year-old I’ll Have Another could become the first
Triple Crown winner by winning the Belmont Stakes since Affirmed
did so in 1978.
(Editing by Ellen Wulfhorst, Cynthia Johnston and Jackie Frank)
