A celebration of a life lived well was held for renowned national disabled athlete Dave Litfin on July 16 at Racecourse Saratoga.
Family and friends gathered at the Paddock Suite on the second floor to honor Litfin, who passed away from cancer at the age of 64 on November 17.
This is the first time his wife of 40 years, Robin, has returned to the track since last year’s closing weekend.
Dave insisted they go to the track again. Although he was seriously ill, his disability was overcome, as it had been, many times before.
“He had to put money on his NYRA Bets card,” said Robin. “He bet a cold exact number and it paid back $600. Really?”
Those were the stories that went viral during the celebration, as a wake-up call for Dave, who didn’t want any service when he passed away.
The fifth race is named in his honor. In addition to Robin, the speakers at the ceremony included his son Sam, one of his daughters, Addy, and David Grening, a longtime friend and former colleague at Daily Racing Form. Several others spoke as Robin invited anyone who wanted to talk about her husband to step up.
Dave was a handicap athlete in New York for Daily Racing Form from 1991-2016 and later moved to South Florida where he was a chart caller for Equibase. He is also the author of a popular weekly handicap column for BloodHorse titled “Litfin at Large”. In addition, he has written several books on disability during his career.
“He doesn’t care about gossip, he doesn’t care about politics,” said Robin. “It’s family and it’s work. And the work he does is the air he breathes. I think he’ll feel embarrassed and ashamed before today. He never wanted to be. admit it; it was never about him.”
