THIS BREW IS JUST FINE FOR YOUNGSTERS.

Byline: KEVIN MODESTI Horse Racing

INGLEWOOD - Inevitably, before the Hollywood Gold Cup is run Sunday, some critic will observe that despite its glittering name, this is a major thoroughbred race without stars. If I didn't know the sport, I would have one question.

Who are the stars we're talking about? These stars of the racing nation? These stars who aren't here?

Frank Stronach, owner of Gold Cup favorite Milwaukee Brew, might argue that there is a celebrity horse here. After Milwaukee Brew ended an year-and-a-half losing streak at the Santa Anita Handicap in March, Stronach submitted that the 5-year-old horse could capture the fancy of young people, his curious premise being that young people like beer. Milwaukee Brew later won The Californian. Nothing mistaken for Beatlemania has ensued.

Stronach's wishful comment reflects the horse-racing industry's desperation for a superstar to lead it back to popularity.

But I submit that in its loud yearning for a superstar, the game has led would-be fans to overlook its many existing stars, the people and places and things that intrigue racetrack regulars and could have broader appeal.

Who are the stars?

Here's one Californian's list of (almost) a dozen. And, as it turns out, two are in the Gold Cup.

12. D. Wayne Lukas. Nearing his 67th birthday, the trainer of 13 Triple Crown race victories and holder of barns full of records has slowed down just enough to allow fans a good view of his awesome accomplishments. Once the brash iconoclast, Lukas now looks tame to traditionalists in comparison to Bob Baffert.

11. Kent Desormeaux. Since bursting on the scene as a teen-ager by winning an apprentice-record 598 races in 1989, Desormeaux has enjoyed sensational highs (two Eclipse Awards, two Kentucky Derbies) and spectacular lows (notably the much-criticized ride of Real Quiet in the Belmont Stakes) and inspires equally contrasting emotions. He rides Milwaukee Brew.

10. Laffit Pincay. Racing's Cy Young. Its Pete Rose. Its Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Its Walter Payton. Its Wayne Gretzky. Still going strong at 55, he has done more of what matters - winning - than anyone in history.

9. Arab owners. To people in the sport, there's a big difference in approach and style among the stables headed by Saudi Prince Ahmed Salman, Sheik Mohammed Maktoum of Dubai and other Arab notables. But, especially since Sept. 11, the public understandably will lump them together as a single force, the most powerful Arab presence in any American sport.

8. Jerry Bailey. A virtually perennial winner of the Eclipse Award for outstanding jockey, he is the one rider who can count on having a mount in virtually any race he wants. If you're a basketball team, you hire Phil Jackson. If you're a hockey team, you get Scotty Bowman. If you're a horse, you want Bailey.

7. Bobby Frankel. Without winning any Triple Crown races, while winning only one Breeders' Cup race, the bluntly honest trainer has been the surest thing in the sport for the past three years, capable of saddling the winner of any major event, often forming a too-tough team with Bailey. He trains Milwaukee Brew.

6. The pick-six. Bottom line, the sport is all about betting. And no wager can add more to a fan's bottom line than the pick-six, which offers pots of hundreds of thousands - and occasionally millions - of dollars to anybody who can pick six winners in a row. It's still biggest in California, and tracks here probably haven't done enough to market it to simulcast players around the country.

5. War Emblem. If he'd won the Belmont Stakes and completed the first Triple Crown sweep in 24 years, the colt would have made the rest of this list superfluous. His inability to overcome a disastrous start left questions about how great he really is. Still, right now he's probably the horse most non-racing fans can name.

4. Street Cry. Owned by Sheik Mohammed, ridden by Bailey, the 4-year-old is the most-talked-about horse in the sport after his huge victories in the Dubai World Cup and the Stephen Foster Handicap at Churchill Downs made him the early favorite for the Breeders' Cup Classic in October.

3. The Triple Crown. Everything seems to revolve around the Kentucky Derby, the Preakness and the Belmont now, and every other racing event, even the Breeders' Cup, has dropped below the public radar. Every spring, the Triple Crown awakens the ghost of Secretariat and allows the sport to dream of another one.

2. Bob Baffert. Know any other horse trainer who was the star of a bobble-head doll giveaway? Baffert's Triple Crown successes, his quotable wit and his distinctive look make him the most recognizable figure in racing.

1. (We'll see.)

Maybe Nos. 2-12 will blossom from stardom into superstardom, or maybe the dreamed-of superstar will come from somewhere else.

It could be Milwaukee Brew if he wins about 10 races in a row.

How 'bout a beer, kids?

--Seven in Gold Cup: The surprise entry of Dig for It, a 7-year-old who ran 11th for trainer Bruce Headley in his past two stakes races, enlarged the field for the Hollywood Gold Cup to seven horses. Dig for It was listed at 15-1 on the morning line, ahead of only 30-1 Macaneo.

The morning line forecasts a battle for favoritism between 8-5 Milwaukee Brew and 9-5 Sky Jack.

HOLLYWOOD GOLD CUP LINEUP

Post Horse Jockey Odds

1 Macaneo Pat Valenzuela 30-1

2 Momentum Garrett Gomez 4-1

3 Dollar Bill Mark Guidry 6-1

4 Dig for It Alex Solis 15-1

5 Sky Jack Laffit Pincay 9-5

6 Milwaukee Brew Kent Desormeaux 8-5

7 Out of Mind Eddie Delahoussaye 10-1

-Morning-line odds set by Hollywood Park's Russell Hudak

OUT OF THE GATE

HOLLYWOOD PARK STANDINGS

Through Wednesday

Jockeys Wins

Pat Valenzuela 64

Alex Solis 51

Victor Espinoza 43

Laffit Pincay 43

Kent Desormeaux 29

Kevin Krigger 24

Trainers Wins

Bobby Frankel 20

John Sadler 15

Vladimir Cerin 14

Paul Aguirre 12

David Hofmans 12

Doug O'Neill 12

PINCAY WATCH

Laffit Pincay, thoroughbred racing's all-time leader in victories by a jockey with 9,385, will try to break an 8-8 tie with Bill Shoemaker for the most Hollywood Gold Cup wins when he rides Sky Jack on Sunday. Pincay won last year aboard Aptitude following Futural's disqualification. He won consecutive Gold Cups once before - in 1985 with Greinton and 1986 with Super Diamond.

ON THE STAKES SCHEDULE

Hollywood Park

Saturday

--$75,000 Answer Do Stakes, 3-year-olds and up, bred in California, 1 mile on turf

Sunday

--$750,000 Hollywood Gold Cup, 3-year-olds and up, 1 1/4 miles

--$500,000 Swaps, 3-year-olds, 1 1/8 miles

--$200,000 A Gleam Handicap, 3-year-olds and up, fillies and mares, 7 furlongs

Belmont Park

Saturday

--$150,000 Bowling Green Handicap, 3-year-olds and up, 1 3/8 miles on turf

A WEEK AT THE RACES

The Hollywood Gold Cup is one of three stakes in the Hollywood Park program Sunday. In the Swaps Stakes, Came Home (with Mike Smith riding for the first time, replacing the retired Chris McCarron) stands out over six other 3-year-olds. In the A Gleam Handicap, Kalookan Queen (Alex Solis) will carry 122 pounds, five more than any of the nine other fillies and mares. ... Saturday's Answer Do Stakes includes 2000 winner Full Moon Madness, Men's Exclusive and Fair Apache. ... Kent Desormeaux will be eligible to ride Sunday's stakes under an exemption from a five-day suspension stemming from Dublino's disqualification for interference in the American Oaks last Saturday. ... Eddie Delahoussaye is riding again after missing a few days with an infection near an eye. ... Garrett Gomez missed Wednesday's and Thursday's races because of a stomach virus. ... After last week's first round of future betting on three Breeders' Cup races, the favorites were Street Cry (4-1) in the Classic, Azeri (5-2) in the Distaff and Crafty C.T. and Swept Overboard (each 9-1) in the Sprint. The Breeders' Cup is Oct. 26 at Arlington Park near Chicago. ... Hall of Fame trainer Ron McAnally turned 70 on Thursday. ... Tizbud, full brother to 2000 Horse of the Year Tiznow and one-time star Budroyale, finished third in his first start Sunday at Hollywood Park. Trained by John Sadler and ridden by Victor Espinoza, the 3-year-old finished four lengths behind winner Juan in the 6-furlong race. ... Del Mar has renamed the Ramona Handicap in honor of the late track chairman and prominent breeder-owner John Mabee. The turf race for fillies and mares will be called the John C. Mabee Ramona Handicap when it is run July 27.

- Kevin Modesti

CAPTION(S):

photo, 2 boxes

Photo:

no caption (Laffit Pincay)

Box:

(1) HOLLYWOOD GOLD CUP LINEUP (see text)

(2) OUT OF THE GATE (see text)