GREATNESS OF SANTA ANITA DERBY STAYS TIMELESS.

Byline: KEVIN MODESTI

ARCADIA - Squint hard against the sun splashing off the foothills, listen to the ghosts trading tips on the ancient mezzanine, let the reins on your imagination hang loose, and on Saturday afternoon you could have the feeling you've stepped back into Santa Anita Derby history.

It could be 1938, and a late-blooming specimen named Stagehand and an ill-fated jockey named Jack Westrope could be rallying from the back of a crowded pack to defeat Preakness winner Dauber - mere days before Stagehand completes a unique double by upsetting Seabiscuit in the Santa Anita Handicap. It could be 1955, and Swaps and Johnny Longden could be holding off horses ridden by Eddie Arcaro and Bill Shoemaker in the first major victory for California thoroughbreds' favorite son. It could be 1978, and Affirmed and Laffit Pincay could be rocketing to the eight-length triumph that sends the handsome colt east to sweep the Triple Crown. And it could be 1988 and '89, and Winning Colors and Sunday Silence could be making fast work of it to cap the greatest decade for West Coast 3-year-olds.

There aren't many events on L.A.'s horse-racing calendar that evoke images of the way it used to be, back when there was nothing ironic about calling it The Sport of Kings.

In fact, the Santa Anita Derby is pretty much the only event of its kind anymore.

Virtually everything else about the game has faded.

But, as it approaches its 66th running, the Santa Anita Derby is arguably as big as it ever was.

``To me, it's become bigger in the last 15 years,'' Hall of Fame trainer Richard Mandella said.

Mandella, whose view is that of an insider, cites ``the buzz'' among the Santa Anita Park stables as the $750,000 race draws near.

Even a distant observer, though, can see the Santa Anita Derby still stands as tall as the San Gabriel Mountains.

Racetrack attendance in general has plummeted in recent years in the face of rising competition for the sports and gambling dollars.

Santa Anita Derby attendance, meanwhile, counting on-site and off-track- betting crowds, still consistently reaches the 55,000 to 60,000 level of its heyday.

Racetrack atmosphere has lost much of its electricity as more than half of the fans on the average day watch on television at the wagering satellites that have come online in the past decade.

Santa Anita Derby atmosphere, meanwhile, remains charged, crowds on-site outnumbering those off-track by 2-1 in most recent years.

Other classic races, which used to be television fixtures and front-page news, have slipped below the media radar.

Saturday's Santa Anita Derby, meanwhile, will enjoy the coverage of ESPN and reporters from as far away as Toronto.

Once, the centerpiece of the Santa Anita's long winter season was the Santa Anita Handicap, matching the older heavyweights of the thoroughbred world. No longer: The Derby has drawn larger crowds than the Big 'Cap in five of the past six years.

Whatever forces are crushing the rest of the sport, the Santa Anita Derby will always have one big thing going for it: It is the major Western steppingstone for exciting young horses aiming for the Kentucky Derby, always run four weeks hence in Louisville, Ky.

Tell people the Santa Anita Derby has been won by nine Horses of the Year, nine Hall of Fame horses, 14 Hall of Fame jockeys and nine Hall of Fame trainers, and they go cold. Tell them it has produced 14 Kentucky Derby winners - Silver Charm, Real Quiet and Charismatic in the past six years alone - and they feel chills.

``These horses that win the Santa Anita Derby are the horses to beat in the Kentucky Derby,'' said Ron Ellis, the Monroe High of North Hills graduate who trains Atswhatimtalknbout, the favorite to win Saturday's 10-horse race. ``I think it's held its luster because of that.''

Jockey Kent Desormeaux said: ``Everyone who runs well in that race leaves here with Derby Fever.''

Santa Anita knows the Derby has become its main event, and some people think it's a self-fulfilling prophecy.

``The Santa Anita Handicap was a big day for years and years. You couldn't get a parking spot,'' Mandella said. ``I think Santa Anita slacked off on promoting the Santa Anita Handicap and it went a different direction. I'm sure the people are sharp enough to spot that and go back to (pushing the Big 'Cap).

``You didn't turn on the TV (before the Big 'Cap last month) and hear, `If you come to the races one day a year ...,'' Mandella said, referring to a familiar old slogan.

Chris McCarron, the Hall of Fame jockey who became Santa Anita's general manager this week, said Mandella's theory might be correct.

``Now that I'm here,'' McCarron said, ``I've got to figure out why the marketing effort has slipped with regard to other events that go on here and see if I can point certain races in the right direction so that people do know they're happening.''

Santa Anita marketing and public relations director Stuart Zanville said the Derby and the Big 'Cap have ``comparable'' marketing and giveaway budgets.

``I think there's just greater awareness of the Santa Anita Derby because of heightened awareness of the Triple Crown chase,'' Zanville said.

Marketing alone didn't make the Santa Anita Derby a magic day in Southern California racing.

That started long before ``marketing'' joined the sports lexicon.

On Saturday, you might be able to see all the way back to those good old days.

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