David Haber (1909–1983) was an American businessman. Haber was born in 1909 in

Harlem Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street (Manhattan), 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and 110th Street (Manhattan), ...

. He owned a large fleet of taxi cabs in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

until 1963 when he sold them for $4 million. In 1952 Haber purchased Miami radio station WFEC for $50,000. Haber filed for a construction permit for a television station on channel 10 the next year, but withdrew his bid for the channel later that year. Under Haber WFEC was primarily aimed at a Black audience, promoting itself as "the only station in Florida featuring all-negro programming" and aired shows hosted by Robert Earl Sawyer and

King Coleman Carlton "King" Coleman (January 20, 1932 – September 11, 2010) was an American rhythm and blues singer and musician, known for providing the vocals for the 1959 hit single, " (Do The) Mashed Potatoes", recorded with James Brown's band. Over ...

. In 1955, WFEC came under scrutiny by the FCC for airing programs hosted by "tipsters" claiming to help listeners bet on horse race winners. The station won its license renewals after removing the programs. Haber sold the station later in the year for $70,000. Haber owned horses with his attorney and business associate Henry Friedlander and raced under the name of Dirf Stable. In 1959 he opened Shenandoah Downs in

Charles Town, West Virginia Charles Town is a city in Jefferson County, West Virginia, United States, and is also the county seat. The population was 5,259 at the 2010 census. It is named for its founder Charles Washington, youngest brother of President George Washington. ...

. In 1964, Haber, who wanted to own a larger track as well as one closer to his home in

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

, purchased

Suffolk Downs Suffolk Downs is a former Thoroughbred race track in East Boston, Massachusetts, United States. The track opened in 1935 after being built by Joseph A. Tomasello for a cost of $2 million. It was sold in May 2017 to a developer who plans to crea ...

from John C. Pappas for $3 million. Haber planned a turning Suffolk from a mile-long thoroughbred into a harness track. In 1968 he sold Suffolk Downs to Reality Equities Corporation of New York. He was succeeded as track president by former baseball executive

Bill Veeck William Louis Veeck Jr. ( ; February 9, 1914 – January 2, 1986), also known as "Sport Shirt Bill", was an American Major League Baseball franchise owner and promoter. Veeck was at various times the owner of the Cleveland Indians, St. Louis Br ...

but remained as chairman until Reality Equities sold the track in 1971. Haber died on October 28, 1983. In 1992 the executor of Haber's $1.27 million estate Melvyn Altman was accused of stealing from three estates, including Haber's. Altman was sentenced to 41 months in prison for stealing $750,000 from Haber's estate and from the estate of a intellectually disabled man he had been given guardianship of.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Haber, David 1909 births 1983 deaths 20th-century American businesspeople American horse racing industry executives American racehorse owners and breeders American radio executives Businesspeople from New York City People from Manhattan Suffolk Downs executives Horse racing venue owners