BREEDERS' CUP NOTEBOOK : WITH LOWER ODDS, CALIFORNIA BETTORS SHORTCHANGED.

Byline: Daily News Staff and Wire Services

It was a good Breeders' Cup for Southern California horses, jockeys and trainers, but it could have been better for bettors here.

Breeders' Cup wagers placed at California tracks went into a separate parimutuel pool. And predictably, the odds on the California-based winners were lower here than they were at Woodbine, the Toronto track where the races were held Saturday.

A $2 bet on Classic winner Alphabet Soup returned $41.70 at Woodbine but only $20.30 here. Similarly, Sprint winner Lit de Justice paid $10 there, $7.20 here; Distaff winner Jewel Princess paid $6.80 there, $6.20 here; and Mile winner Da Hoss (Eastern-based but the 1995 Del Mar Derby winner) paid $18.90 there, $17 here.

Betting in California was supposed to give fans an advantage: The parimutuel takeout here was lower - by 3.6 percent on straight bets and 6.9 percent on exotics - than it was at Woodbine. But fans of local competitors still went home with less than they would have if their wagers had been commingled with others across the continent.

In the seven-race event, California-based jockeys won four (Corey Nakatani two, Gary Stevens and Chris McCarron) and California-based trainers won four (Jenine Sahadi, Wally Dollase, David Hofmans and D. Wayne Lukas).

Cheers for last place: Ricks Natural Star came nowhere near winning the Breeders' Cup Turf. But he won some hearts.

A 7-year-old, New Mexico-bred claiming gelding who hadn't raced in 14 months, Ricks Natural Star was cheered when he trotted onto the track, cheered when he passed the grandstand and cheered when he was pushed into the gate.

``I thought I would give it my best shot,'' said apprentice Lisa McFarland, chosen from the local group of jockeys to ride the horse known affectionately as Rick.

Vanned all the way from Artesia, N.M., by owner, trainer and veterinarian William Livingston, Ricks Natural Star went off at 50-1 in the 1-1/2-mile Turf. Only his popularity made his odds that short. Track oddsmakers made him 99-1.

Not only did Ricks Natural Star finish last in a field of 14, he finished last by nearly 30 seconds, galloping the last half of the race at an easy canter. He had raced among the leaders early in the race.

Livingston had what he had come for - publicity for his horse and for a new brand of deodorized manure he was hawking.

Ricks Natural Star balked coming out of the tunnel from the paddock, rearing and bucking, and when he finally emerged to the cheers of the big crowd, McFarland and the outrider immediately took him to the far side of the track.

When the horses returned to the starting gate, smack in front of the big grandstand, Ricks Natural Star refused to enter the gate. Several track workers had to get behind him and push, and the crowd cheered again as Rick waited patiently for the rest of the field to be loaded.

Disorder: Seven horses were loaded into the wrong starting gates for the $1 million Breeders' Cup Sprint, stewards at Woodbine confirmed.

Worst hurt by the gaffe was California-based Paying Dues, who finished second to Lit de Justice by 1-1/4 lengths. Instead of being loaded into the No. 7 spot in the gate, track personnel stuck him in the No. 12 gate.

The other six misloaded horses were off by just one gate.