Hot Town - Summer in the City

WE ASK YOU: WHAT COMPARES with summer in San Diego? Well, okay, fall. And spring. And yeah, maybe winter. Life here in paradise is pretty much heaven year-round. But there’s no denying the pace of life in paradise quickens in summertime. Maybe it’s all the tourists in our midst. Or maybe it’s just that we all act a little more like tourists when summer comes.

Tourist or local, there’s no summer ritual that’s as quintessentially San Diego as the horse races at the Del Mar Racetrack. And this month, senior editor Julia Polloreno takes us along for the ride as the track celebrates its 70th season. It’s come a long way from that summer day back in the ’30s when superstar crooner Bing Crosby welcomed the first eager fans through the turnstiles. Today, Del Mar is the most successful Thoroughbred racetrack in the country. And while even the track may have made a few concessions this year to recession — races will run on five days a week instead of six — it’s certain to be a winning summer bash.

And remember, the racing season is almost as much about the parties as the ponies. When you’ve cashed in your winning tickets — or torn up the losers — check out our Menu section in the back of your magazine. A nice steak and martini is a good way to celebrate — or to drown your sorrows. Our extensive listings of restaurants surrounding the Del Mar Racetrack will point you in the right direction.

Want to go to the races in style? Check out our summer fashion section. We’ve collected some of the best in Southern California chic to help you choose the just-right touch for opening day. It’s not necessarily all about the cleavage.

Also required reading for July: Longtime local reporter Cathy Clark takes a new look at San Diego County’s second-largest city, Chula Vista, where just a few years ago it was all about boomtown. Forbes magazine has ranked it sixth-dullest city in the country. But with a growing housing crisis, continued wrangling over bayfront development, a long-stalled plan to build a Chargers football stadium and political backstabbing raised to high art, Chula Vista is anything but boring.

Now, if all of this sounds like too much excitement for a lazy summer, our travel team brings you options: weekend getaways to the Newport coast, Santa Monica and the Anza-Borrego Desert. Of course they aren’t San Diego, but you can take your San Diego Magazine with you.

TOM BLAIR
Editor in Chief

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