An EZQ Opener at Hollywood Park : Horse racing: The new bet makes its debut as the spring-summer season commences before 14,559.

Hollywood Park’s spring-summer season opened Wednesday with the introduction of the EZQ, a rare bet at American tracks.

The EZQ, a triple quinella of sorts, intrigued R.D. Hubbard, Hollywood Park’s board chairman, when he saw the Parisian version of the bet at the Arc de Triomphe last fall. Keeneland used a form of the EZQ wager for three weeks, then decided it wasn’t helping business much and dropped it.

Fans collect on EZQ bets when their choices finish first and second, first and third or second and third, in any order. The good news for some EZQ players Wednesday, when there was an on-track crowd of 14,559, was that longshots ran second and third in the last race, for a payoff of $527.60. But the median payoff for EZQ betting on eight races was only $7.60. Sixteen of the 24 EZQ payoffs were $9.40 or less.

One of the purposes of the EZQ is to give racing newcomers a better chance. “It’s a simple bet that will allow new players to experience the best part of our sport--winning,” said Rick Baedeker, Hollywood Park vice president of marketing and public relations.

Even without a trial period, Las Vegas race books have decided the EZQ isn’t worth offering. Many of the Nevada books gave their customers in-house quinellas for the Hollywood Park opener.

The regular quinella, which Hollywood Park offered for every race at last year’s fall meeting, has been dropped.

“The initial reaction to the EZQ has been positive,” Hubbard said. “We’ll wait and see how it does and go from there. Like anything else we try, if it’s not working, we won’t continue it.”

For eight races at Hollywood last fall, the quinella handle was 3.7% of the overall betting. For eight races Wednesday, the EZQ betting amounted to 2.7% of the handle.

There was no EZQ for the feature race, because three scratches resulted in a four-horse field.

Santa Anita, which ended its season Monday, also struggled to get full fields for its races, and another race at Hollywood Park on Wednesday drew only five starters.

Based on the number of applications for stall space, Hubbard is optimistic about running full fields this season.

“For the first time since I’ve been involved, we have a fairly major shortage of stalls,” he said. “I was jumped about a dozen times today by trainers who were hot because they didn’t get the number of stalls they wanted. So I think that speaks good for the meet as we go on. Roughly, we have about 1,900 to 2,000 stalls, and as I understand it, we have enough people on the waiting list to fill another 200 or 300 stalls.”

Prospector’s Ghost, who won the $44,000 feature, has been filling a stall at Santa Anita. After being shipped cross-town Wednesday, the 4-year-old gelding was ridden to victory by Laffit Pincay for trainer Jim Buss, who also saddled another winner earlier on the card.

Chris McCarron rode one winner Wednesday, giving him an unofficial total of 5,965 in his run toward the 6,000 mark. Only 10 jockeys have reached the 6,000 plateau.

Horse Racing Notes

Flyin’ J. Bryan has a new trainer. Joseph Fenley, the owner of the speedy 3-year-old, has moved Flyin’ J. Bryan and three other horses from Doug Peterson’s barn to Neil Drysdale’s. “I went out of my way to do everything to the best of my ability,” Peterson said. “I’m sorry it didn’t work out. This kind of thing happens in racing, and of course I’m sorry to lose the horses. But I think it’s more important to keep owners in the game, even if it’s with another trainer.” Flyin’ J. Bryan, who won the San Vicente Breeders’ Cup Stakes at Santa Anita, was the early leader before finishing last in the Santa Anita Derby.

Arcangues, the French import who won the Breeders’ Cup Classic when Jerry Bailey rode him for the first time, will have a new jockey, Eddie Delahoussaye, for the John Henry Handicap at Hollywood Park on Sunday. Arcangues, scheduled to make his first start in almost five months, has been assigned high weight of 122 pounds. Other probables for the 1 1/8-mile grass race are Misil, Earl of Barking, Marshaallah, Kingdom Found and Tinners Way. The Breeders’ Cup was Arcangues’ first start on dirt after 15 grass races in Europe.

Southern Truce, bothered by a cracked hoof that prevented her from being sent to Oaklawn Park for the Apple Blossom Handicap, will be favored in the first stake of the Hollywood Park season, the $100,000 A Gleam Handicap Friday night. Golden Klair, Tour, Minidar, Desert Stormer and Cargo will also run in the seven-furlong stake, with Southern Truce the high weight at 120 pounds. . . . Jockey Pat Valenzuela was off Wednesday, reporting to the stewards that he had a strained back.

Bertrando, expected to resume racing when the breeding season ends, has gotten 35 mares in foal, co-owner Eddie Nahem said. . . . Hollywood Wildcat, last year’s champion 3-year-old filly whose 1994 campaign has been compromised by a cough, is expected to run in the Hawthorne Handicap on May 29. Hollywood Wildcat hasn’t run since finishing third in the La Canada Stakes at Santa Anita on Feb. 5.