With the mayoral race winding down, Mayor Bloomberg went bowling in Staten Island yesterday while his Democratic challenger, Fernando Ferrer, campaigned in a hot dog shop and on a city bus in Brooklyn.

A day before the election, a new poll indicated the mayor had the race easily in hand, but neither candidate showed any sign of letting up. As Mr. Bloomberg stumped in all five boroughs – twice – Mr. Ferrer campaigned with party allies and urged supporters to cast ballots today even as he acknowledged that it would take a big upset for him to win.

“No matter what you hear, your votes haven’t been cast yet,” Mr. Ferrer told supporters near Borough Hall in Brooklyn. Greeting New Yorkers in Bushwick, the Fulton Street mall, and in Chelsea, the Democrat largely set aside the dominant issues of the campaign and simply asked people to vote. His refrain of the day: “If you show up, I’ll show up.”

Mr. Ferrer tried to project a sense of both optimism and energy, as he made a brief detour into a hot dog shop and followed the Reverend Al Sharpton aboard an idle city bus during a walk along the Fulton Street mall in Brooklyn.

Polls throughout the general election campaign have shown Mr. Ferrer trailing, and he appeared to be losing even more ground in the homestretch. Mr. Bloomberg led him 68% to 30% among likely voters in a Quinnipiac University poll released yesterday.

Despite his increasing lead, Mr. Bloomberg has refused to take victory for granted. “The polls don’t matter,” he said. “What I need to do is get one more vote than anybody else tomorrow. That’s why I’m working all day today.”

The mayor later added that he hadn’t thought about anything beyond Election Day. “The jets aren’t fueled,” he said. “I have a concession speech and an acceptance speech, just like I did four years ago. I know which one I’d like to give, but I’ll let the voters decide.”

After appearing with Rev. Sharpton, Mr. Ferrer was joined in Chelsea by Senator Obama, the Illinois freshman who vaulted to national stardom after his keynote address at the Democratic National Convention in Boston last year.

“I have absolute confidence that if everybody works hard in these last 24 hours, that we’re going to see Freddy Ferrer come out on top,” Mr. Obama said. He added that “New Yorkers should not worry about the polls,” but rather should “think about what’s in their hearts, and examine what kind of New York City they want to see.”

Mr. Ferrer met potential voters at four spots in Brooklyn, Queens, and Manhattan, but his schedule paled when compared with that of Mayor Bloomberg, who embarked on a whirlwind tour of the five boroughs. In addition to speeches at senior centers and to an umbrella union, the mayor bowled in Staten Island, tallying one spare and a couple of nines in four frames at Rab’s Country Lanes on Hylan Boulevard. He also presided over a rather turbulent game of bingo in the Bronx, in which two of his campaign volunteers erroneously claimed a winning card. Mr. Bloomberg ended his night literally on top of the city, with a campaign event at the observation deck of the Empire State Building.

The mayor started his day bright and early on the Staten Island Ferry. He then hit senior centers in Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Queens, regaling elderly voters with stories of his 96-year-old mother and his membership in the American Association of Retired Persons.

He also said his campaign would offer free rides to take senior citizens to the polls today.

At a “Get Out the Vote” rally at the local headquarters of Unite Here near Times Square, Mr. Bloomberg told hotel workers and other union members that his focus was on creating jobs. “Spell it with me – J-O-B-S,” the mayor said, spurring the crowd into a raucous chant.

Mr. Ferrer and his supporters, meanwhile, faced questions throughout the day about his lackluster poll numbers and what some see as an inevitable, and potentially lopsided, defeat. The former Bronx president said he was in a “tremendously optimistic mood,” but when asked what kind of upset it would take for him to emerge victorious, he simply replied, “Huge.”

Some held out hope. “I don’t believe the polls,” a Brooklyn City Council member, Letitia James, said as she campaigned with Mr. Ferrer along the Fulton street mall. “The only poll that matters is tomorrow.”

The polls are open today between 6 a.m. and 9 p.m.