'Cougars' Contest

The San Diego Union Tribune reports:

Rosie Goldstein doesn't mind being called a “cougar” – urban slang for “a woman who looks young, dresses young and dates young,” as a blogger recently put it.

So when the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club announced a competition for the title of Miss Cougar 2009 – as a promotion for its Cougar II Handicap Race – Goldstein immediately e-mailed her photo for consideration.

“I hold my head up proud,” said Goldstein, who described herself as in her 40s. “I have never felt more beautiful than this year.”

The cougar contest is one component of a multipronged strategy to promote the racetrack's glamorous social scene. With the nation in recession, Del Mar is among many tracks trying to drum up excitement among people who don't normally think about horse racing.

Cougars in the news.