ALBANY — Two top New York Racing Association honchos were fired yesterday in the wake of allegations they knew their racetracks were shorting bettors.

President and CEO Charles Hayward and senior vice president and general counsel Patrick Kehoe had been put on unpaid leave Monday before their firing by NYRA.

The suspensions came after a state Racing & Wagering Board probe found e-mails indicating NYRA officials knowingly failed to lower the association’s take from certain payouts as legally required from September 2010 to last December, leaving bettors nearly $8.5 million short.