Family and friends remembered the long-time self-made handicapper, writer, analyst, and chartcaller who lived in Saratoga Springs on Sunday.
On a table next to the doorway of the Paddock Suite at Saratoga Race Course, a pair of high-quality three-fold poster boards featured various photos of Dave Litfin with family and friends from over four decades.
Next to the neatly-arranged photo collage, a tripod stand cradled Dave’s headshot with a flamingo pattern short-sleeve shirt in blue with flamingos draped around it.
Everyone who walked through the double-glass doors observed the memorial, then reflected on the self-made handicapper, writer, analyst and chart caller who was a fixture in the press box, whether it was at Saratoga Race Course, Belmont Park, Aqueduct, Gulfstream Park, or another racetrack throughout the country.
It was part of the Celebration for Dave Litfin that included a race in memory of him on Sunday. Before his passing on Nov. 17 at the age of 64 following his long-term battle against cancer, Litfin’s last request to his wife, Robin Litfin, was a celebration.
“I asked him, ‘Do you want a funeral or do you want a party?’” Robin said. “He said, ‘I want a party.’ This place is the place he loved more than anywhere else. He didn’t want a funeral. He wanted a celebration.”
Sunday also was the first time that Robin walked on the Saratoga Race Course grounds since Dave’s passing. Last year, both of them came to the track on Closing Weekend. Robin had plans to attend Opening Day, but she wasn’t ready to walk on one of the historical sports venues in the country. Her daughter Addy and her son Sam suggested she should wait.
“This is the first time I have been at the track without him,” Robin said. “I was supposed to come Opening Day, but I couldn’t do it. My kids said, ‘Just wait for us, mom.’ The last time when I was here with him was Closing Weekend. Saturday, we were on the front side. Sunday, we were on the backstretch. All he wanted to do is be at the races.”
For over 40 years, Dave’s career involved the racetrack. While meeting Robin in Manhattan, Dave wrote articles for American Turf Monthly. After six weeks of dating, Dave and Robin were engaged. Simultaneously, she encouraged him to pursue his dream.
Dave’s first opportunity in horse racing was a call taker for the Daily Racing Form in Hightstown, N.J. in 1982. For two years with Robin, he traveled the country to cover various races.
Shortly after Addy was born, Dave took a less-traveled position as a communications assistant for the New York Racing Association. From 1984-1988, along with covering races, Dave also honed his handicapping skills that later became the foundation for his books: Expert Handicapping: Winning Insights into Betting Thoroughbreds and Real-Life Handicapping: An Eclectic Horseplayer’s Year at the Track.
Before returning to the Daily Racing Form as an analyst and columnist in 1990, Dave was a handicapper for Racing Action and the Daily News.
“He is completely self-made,” Robin said. “When he started working for NYRA, someone saw what he was doing, and the word got out. He was dedicated to the sport.”
During his time at the Daily Racing Form, Dave developed a special working relationship with Dave Grening that included watching episodes of The Odd Couple on New Year’s Day in the Aqueduct press box.
“Dave was a mentor, colleague, a friend, but most of all, a brother,” Grening said during the remembrance. “He was sort of the answer key, just like you would get in crossword puzzles. If you couldn’t get the word, you would go to the back of the page and see the word. That’s what a public handicapper in New York did. The phrase uttered around the press box was ‘Who did Dave pick?’ Dave, you had a fabulous career, and I will always remember it.”
Dave Litfin worked for the Daily Racing Form until 2016 when he was released. While it was a difficult moment for Dave, Robin and his family, he quickly found other positions as a chart caller for Equibase, a contributor for Bloodhorse with his weekly “Litfin at Large” handicapping column, and a freelancer for Thoro-graph and the Hong Kong Jockey Club.
With the help of Equibase Marketing and Communications Manager Rhonda Norby and long-time racing colleague and friends Virginia Kellner and Joan Lawrence, Dave started chart calling races at Gulfstream Park before traveling to Presque Isle Downs and Delaware Park.
“That could have crushed him, but it didn’t,” Robin said about her husband being released by the Daily Racing Form. “He pulled up his big-boy pants, and six weeks later, he went on the road for Equibase. After starting together and traveling 40 years ago, we were doing it again. It was fun and it was great.”
After being in remission for eight years, Dave tried to fight his illness again in January 2022. He continued to write columns and provide racing analysis as much as he could.
Dave also remained resilient and positive going into his son’s wedding in October. Along with walking his son down the aisle, he booked a cruise to Bermuda to celebrate his 40th wedding anniversary with Robin, which would have been Nov. 28 – just days before his passing.
“He wanted to take the train to New York, then get on the cruise,” Robin said. “He was not ready to go. He was willing to take me on one last cruise.”
Today, while Dave’s spot in the press box at Saratoga Race Course, Belmont, Aqueduct, and other racetracks remain vacant, his family, friends and colleagues have not forgotten about him.
Meanwhile, Robin moved to Ballston Spa and currently works at Frivolous and the Saratoga Performing Arts Center. She wears Dave’s wedding band on her finger and his bracelet around her wrist that is a reminder of their marriage.
“He was my best friend,” she said. “People remind me that the gift was 40 years of marriage. That’s what I keep telling myself. He is still with me. He treated me like a queen since the day I had met him. He focused on our family and me and his career. That’s what made him.”
