6 Degrees Of Del Mar
They say that everybody is connected to everybody else in a mere six steps. We put that theory to the test and showed Dexter’s Deli owner Tori Rosay that not only is she connected to film legend Bing Crosby, but a lot of fascinating people create the community bonds in between.

1. Tori Rosay
Rosay is owner of Dexter’s Deli in Del Mar. In 1996, while living in Orange County, Rosay took a road trip south along Highway 101 looking for the right location to open a natural food dog store. "I looked at Laguna Beach but when I reached Del Mar I immediately fell in love with this dog town where they even have a dog beach," she says. "Right on the spot I leased the old Scott Tinley store and became the very first store in San Diego to sell natural fresh food for dogs." Always interested and involved in the area of nutrition, Rosay began to explore the contents of dog food when her own dog, a Fox Terrier puppy named Dexter, became sick. "I began to treat Dexter with natural foods and she responded so well that today, at 14, she is still strong and healthy." After 11 years in business Dexter’s Deli is an integral part of the Del Mar community. "I probably know most dogs in town," says Rosay. "I usually know the dog’s name before I do their owner and I’ve watched many puppies grow into healthy adults. That’s how I met Petra, the puppy that belongs to Darcy and Bob Bingham."

2. Bob Bingham
Dog lover Bob Bingham is a successful technology entrepreneur, start-up angel investor, and nonprofit board member for several innovative technology companies. He also loves to surf and has a passion for 180 mph radio controlled gliders. Today, the 40-year-old is flying even higher as the newly appointed CEO of Unity08, based in Washington, D.C. Unity08 seeks to transform politics by giving everyday Americans the opportunity to directly participate in selecting a presidential ticket. With the goal of having millions of voters attending an online convention in June 2008, Unity08 plans to make heavy use of Web and other technologies to attract and qualify delegates who will select a bi-partisan ticket. "Come Election Day, voters across America will have a third choice, a better choice, that they had a direct hand in selecting. This changes everything," says Bingham. "I haven’t been this excited for a very long time. With Unity08, I finally feel that my vote and my time can make a difference in who becomes president of the United States." Meetings in flip-flops and shorts at a local café will be exchanged for shoes and a business suit. "It’ll be strange," smiles Bingham. He says he’ll miss the neighborhood hangout where he bumps into his friends, such as Laura Parker, a building contractor who is passionate about community affairs.

3. Laura Parker
In 1994, on a weekend visit to Del Mar, Parker stumbled across a small house in foreclosure and purchased the property. In 2003, after gaining her construction license, Parker started Del Mar Restoration, Inc., a residential construction company. "It had all the same general qualities that I learned in the advertising business — budgets, timelines, clients, and of course, coordination of creative talents. I just love the process of building and went through the design review board (DRB) process myself, eventually joining the DRB to help others." Parker says that her passion to keep and enhance the character of Del Mar is the most important aspect of her work. "I want to build homes with character and charm so that 100 years from now people will still comment on them. Del Mar has a unique quality that includes its early history." One important characteristic of the town and another reason Parker loves living in the community is the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club and racetrack, an important piece of Del Mar history. "I enjoy attending their pre-opening day fundraiser breakfast, where I get a chance to chat with Joe Harper in the Turf Club. What a spectacle and thrill to watch the horses training on the track."

4. Joe Harper
As president of the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club, Harper has expertly woven into his position the legacy of his famous movie director grandfather, Cecil B. DeMille, with his mother’s love of horses. "Mother owned a horse ranch and was a member of the California Thoroughbred Breeds Association," says Harper. "Both my parents worked for grandfather at Paramount Studios in Hollywood. Mother ran the business end of the production company while father handled public relations." In 1951, Harper, affectionately known as Jody, played the role of a seven-year-old circus performer in the 1952 Academy Award-winning film The Greatest Show on Earth starring Charlton Heston and Jimmy Stewart. Harper loved to play polo, ride rodeo horses, and make documentary films about horses and racing. This led him to the press box and eventually to Del Mar in 1977. With his royal Hollywood breeding it is easy to see why Harper’s vision for the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club extends beyond racing and betting into the entertainment business. July 18 through September 5 will see the Del Mar Racetrack buzzing.

5. Cecil Blount DeMille
Founder of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. DeMille won both the Irving Thalberg Award and the Best Picture Oscar for The Greatest Show on Earth in 1953. Famous for his biblical epics like The Ten Commandments, DeMille served as a major creative force in Hollywood for almost 50 years. Known as a right wing republican, this writer, director, and actor created a grand residence by combining two houses (one purchased from Charlie Chaplin) and connecting them by a long corridor. According to grandson Harper, who lived in a home built by his mother on his grandfather’s lush Hollywood family compound, the entire family dined together every evening, and table talk included much name dropping. "Yul Brynner, Charlton Heston, Gary Cooper, and uncle Anthony Quinn, who married my mother’s sister, were frequently mentioned," says Harper, who overheard his mother and grandfather discussing the casting for the lead role in the film Sampson and Delilah. "Mother said, 'What happened to Kirk Douglas?’ Grandfather, a right wing republican, replied, 'He’s too pink,’ and I wondered why they just couldn’t put some makeup on him." According to Harper, two more famous actors made cameo appearances in DeMille’s The Greatest Show on Earth. "There is an audience shot during the high wire act and if you look closely you will see Bob Hope and Bing Crosby looking up."

6. Bing Crosby
Crosby was one of America’s first multi-media stars. From 1934 to 1954 Crosby held a nearly unrivaled command of record sales, radio ratings, and motion picture grosses, and is considered to be among the most popular musical acts in history. As a thoroughbred racing fan, he bought his first racehorse in 1935 and in 1937 became a founding partner and member of the board of directors of the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club that built and operated the Del Mar Racetrack. The Bing Crosby Breeders’ Cup Handicap at Del Mar Racetrack is named in his honor. The building of the fairgrounds in 1936 with a race permit one year later exploded Del Mar into a summer retreat for the rich and famous. Crosby, seen here taking the track’s very first admission ticket, labeled Del Mar as the place where "the surf meets the turf." Hollywood celebrities like Jimmy Durante, Lucille Ball, Desi Arnaz, Harry James, Betty Grable, Burt Bacharach, and Angie Dickinson were found renting or buying the small modest homes scattered along the ocean. One of Crosby’s closest friends was Lindsay Howard, the son of millionaire businessman Charles S. Howard, who owned a successful racing stable that included Seabiscuit. Charles would join Crosby as a founding partner and director of the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club. On August 12, 1938, the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club hosted a $25,000 winner-take-all match race won by Charles’ Seabiscuit over Binglin Stable’s Ligaroti.
— Ingrid Hoffmeister, photography by Vincent Knakal, Jennifer Nelson,
and courtesy of the Del Mar Historical Society and Bailey Gardiner