[1] In the June 18, 1955 Californian Stakes at Hollywood Park Racetrack, Dave Erb was the substitute rider for the suspended Bill Shoemaker aboard Swaps.
Ridden by Erb in all but one of his twenty-two career stakes race wins, they competed primarily at tracks in Chicago and Kentucky.
[3] In 1956 Erb won the most important races of his career aboard the future Hall of Fame colt, Needles.
In 2008, Dave Erb became the 29th jockey to add his handprint and signature in cement to the "Gallup to Glory" display at the Galt House hotel in Louisville, Kentucky.
[citation needed] In September 2019, Erb, then aged 95 and suffering from dementia went missing and an alert was sent out to the general public.