[Kasept]

Most memorable winner will always be Thunder Gulch in Derby '95 and my first IRS ticket, an exacta on Alabama Day 1990 when the 2 longest shorts on the board -- Mikey Aro Rockingham shipper Keynote Speaker (27-1) & Balinar (16-1) -- photo'd for $721.

But I'll offer a crazy sequence that changed my willingness to play wet tracks and featured a winner that had special significance in my life. Was really rainy at Saratoga in '08 overall and the Barbecue was dead quiet on this particular stormy midweek day. The 1st and 4th came off the turf, so after SCR's the fields were down to 6, 6, 6, 6 and 12 in the MCLM 5th.

I started the card with some rolling P3's and the early P4 for small money.. under $200 total. After $4 CT Phone Home won the opener, Capt. Candyman Can (!) won his career debut for Wilkes at $40 and a McPeek horse won the 3rd at 10-1. The first P3 paid $585. Another eventual stake horse, Motion's Silver Reunion (!) -- whom I had singled in the P4 -- broke his MDN in the 4th for $10 for a $1,350 P3 and setting up hefty P4 payoffs.

In the pivotal 5th, a $50k MDN Claimer, I included a David Donk firster named Spina that had lured Ramon Dominguez. She romped at 17-1 and the P4 came back for $11,850, the third P3 for $720. Was an unbelievable couple of hours and since Tina was working the IRS window, we got to spend a lot of time together. We had only been together a year at that point. A few people played along too I recall, including Dave Blaha's father who was at the track almost every day.

Spina became significant to me again a year later. My mother passed away Alabama Week in '09 and on closing day of the meet Sciacca got a race named for her. In the kind of odd coincidence you can't make up, Spina, now with Mitch Friedman, upset an odds on Dutrow fave to generate a presentation win photo I cherish with Ramon.