Del Mar by the sea, oh, how happy they'll be.

Another successful season concluded Wednesday at the track of fans, tans and also-rans. Handle and attendance held its own, despite a decrease from the Las Vegas simulcasts.

"Through Labor Day, we were up slightly overall in attendance from last year and we were going against a crowd of 44,000 versus last year's Pacific Classic," said executive vice president Craig Fravel.

"Generally, if you throw out that day, we're up about five percent. Our on-track handle is up a half a percentage point over last year. Overall, we're up 3.3 percent, not huge. Southern California inter-track wagering is down about 3 percent."

Fravel estimated if business stayed as it was through the final seven days of the 43-day meet, Del Mar would "be up slightly in both handle and on-track attendance. I don't really have any specific broken out numbers on Vegas, but I think we're down slightly. Maybe there's some lack of rebating going on."

On Del Mar's chances of getting the Breeders' Cup, Fravel said it hinges on widening the turf course.

"I think our chances are good, ultimately," Fravel said. "We still have to make improvements on the turf course, in terms of widening it, but I think the facility has shown it can handle crowds (a record 44,181 was well-accommodated on Cigar's Pacific Classic last year). "But we don't have the formal proposal in anywhere at this point. (Churchill Downs was awarded the 1998 Breeders' Cup). I don't think we'd be in the running for 1999. I'd say the year 2000 is a possibility. The only substantial roadblock would be the turf course."

DR. SARDONICA -- Son of Rahy encountered more traffic than a commuter on the 405 and can win with clear trip.

ENABRU -- That's Urbane spelled backwards, and she looked like she was running backwards until she overcame rankness and unruliness to win in hand under Eddie D. Repeat in store in turf route.

PUERTO SEGURO -- Beat $32,000 foes with plenty left for top claiming trainer Carava. Jump in company shouldn't hamper repeat.

THE HOMESTRETCH: Mandella said Siphon is on course for the Jockey Club Gold Cup at Belmont on Oct. 18, but no decision on whether regular rider David Flores or replacement Chris McCarron would have the mount. "I have to ask the owner what he wants to do," Mandella said . . . Corey Nakatani, coming off a30-day suspension for pushing Ryan Barber off his horse after a race, resumes riding at Fairplex Park which runs its 18-day meet through Sept. 28 . . . A sample of the resistance the NTRA, TOC, HBPA, CHRB, Breeders' Cup Ltd., and all the other alphabet soup groups face in trying to put horse racing on the media map: In the Los Angeles Times sports section the day after Labor Day, a significant sports day -- there were stories on the following: U.S. Open tennis, UCLA and USC football, 49ers' Jerry Rice, Angels and Dodgers, Morning Briefing, a hodge-podge column, Olympics, minor league baseball, a merchandising story on women's volleyball, Monday Night Football, NFL roundup, six stories on Major League baseball, a Dodger report and an Angel report, plus a baseball "extra," nearly 20 inches on women's basketball, a "Newswire" rewrite that included items on soccer, rowing, gymnastics, miscellany and this blurb: "Zoltan Czibor, a 1952 Olympic gold medalist and one of Hungary's all-time great players, died of prostate cancer in Budapest at age 68." Not to mention assorted agate items including gymnastics, volleyball, and fishing reports. But not one word on one of Del Mar's major races, the $300,000 Del Mar Derby. Nary a word on thoroughbred racing. What this game needs is an active, day-to-day lobby, one that could ascertain why every fringe sport gets space, but racing is treated like, eh, illegal gambling is being conducted on it . . . Kent Desormeaux and Corey Black will visit Ohi Racetrack in Tokyo Sept. 24-30 to participate in a Jockey Invitational event . . . Add Golden winners: Come on Coyote, $1. . . Adios and congrats to Tucker Slender, 62, who retired after 43 years at California tracks as either an assistant or head starter. His older brother, George, a steward on the California circuit, hung the nickname on brother Jimmie, after a family dog named "Tuck."

"He was 3-for-3 on turf last year, with a couple of spectacular races. The grass race wouldn't take too much out of him. Gentlemen is becoming very valuable, and to retain that value, I don't think it hurts to show his turf form to the Europeans and to the breeders. You want to show all his versatility, and he's got plenty of that."