NY- Dozens of races at Aqueduct, Belmont and Saratoga racetracks were tainted because fat jockeys were illegally allowed to ride by two New York Racing Association employees who looked the other way, Attorney General Eliot Spitzer charged yesterday in a new criminal indictment.

The 291-count indictment was unsealed yesterday in Saratoga County Court charging that NYRA Clerk of Scales Mario Sclafani and his assistant, Hall of Fame former jockey Braulio Baeza, knowingly lied about the weight of jockeys.

They are accused of scheming to defraud, conspiracy, falsifying business records, tampering with a sports contest, and grand larceny.

The impact was that horse owners paid fees to the fat jockeys that they weren’t entitled to while bettors were left without important information when placing more than $300,000 in “win bets” on horses in these races, the indictment charges.

Sclafani and Baeza “basically had one job to do and that was to ensure that the weight of the jockeys was recorded accurately and then disclosed to bettors,” Spitzer said.

“Instead, they misled the public and compromised the integrity of races run by NYRA.”

Overall, five overweight, but prominent, jockeys – some weighing as much as 15 pounds above their assigned racing weight – were allowed to ride a combined 72 times in a total of 67 races, including 10 stakes contests between January and November of last year, Spitzer spokesman Paul Larrabee said.

Despite the extra weight, five of the horses won, including Lion Tamer, which was ridden by Jose Santos in the $350,000 Cigar Mile at Aqueduct last November.

Fifteen of the horses finished dead last while the rest finished somewhere in between, Larrabee said.

In order to cover up the fact that the jockeys were overweight, the indictment alleges Sclafani, 48, and Baeza, 65 and a 1963 Kentucky Derby winner, made false entries into official track records.

There is no evidence that Sclafani, who pleaded not guilty in court yesterday, and Baeza, who will be arraigned on Oct. 6, benefited financially from the scam, officials said.

Larrabee said that during the investigation Sclafani admitted he had received payments from the jockeys in the past, but insisted it wasn’t related to the weight scandal.

State racing regulations require the public disclosure of jockey weights – even if they’re a pound over the limit – because of its potential effect on outcomes.

Horse owners may replace a jockey if he is more than two pounds over the designated weight for their horse, but any jockey weighing more than five pounds over the limit must be disqualified, according to state racing rules.

Experts are split on the effect added weight can have on a race. Some say a few extra pounds have little impact while others say the weight can slow a horse down and affect the outcome of close races.

Though said to be in on the scam, the jockeys – Santos, Robby Albarado, Herberto Castillo Jr., Ariel Smith and Cornelio Velasquez – were listed only as unindicted co-conspirators and face no criminal sanctions.

But Spitzer’s office said it is referring the matter to the state Racing and Wagering Board for a review of the jockeys’ licenses to race in New York.

After suspending Sclafani and Baeza in January during the investigation, NYRA yesterday fired the duo hours after the indictment was unsealed.