by John Manzi, publicity director, Monticello Raceway

Monticello, NY — Though Mike Spano has been racing horses for decades his name is not familiar to many other than those who follow the races at Monticello Raceway.

In a career that began in the 1970s, Spano, a journeyman whose love for the sport of harness racing is and has been paramount, has been a fixture in these parts since the early 1980s. And by all stretches of reasoning his continued involvement in the business can only be described as pure dedication.

Spano really hasn’t had any standout horses or accomplished anything noteworthy unless you consider the fact that he holds the Mighty M track record for the biggest win payoff when he won with a horse by the name of Ran Sir on August 28, 1996, which paid a whopping $292.50 for win.

But in October of 2005, Spano’s racing experiences changed dramatically when he purchased a cast-off 3-year-old trotter from the Four Starzzzz Stable by the name of Four Starz Ransom.

A gelded son of Credit Winner who did more running than trotting, changed his ways under Spano’s tutelage. During his 4-year-old season Four Starz Ransom began to show some class and took a record of 2:02.2 and earned $16,688.

Last year became a breakout season for both Four Starz Ransom and Mike Spano. The trotter earned $52,551, which almost doubled the purses earned by any Spano-driven horse in a single season since he began driving in the 1970s. And along the way Four Starz Ransom earned a race record of 2:00.1 at the Mighty M, the only place the trotter raced all year long.

And now, with this season only two months old, Four Starz Ransom already has booked three victories, the latest a stunner at the Mighty M on Wednesday, March 5.

Facing the best trotters on the grounds in the track’s $8,100 Preferred Trot, Four Starz Ransom turned in arguably one of the grittiest races of his career.

With the track still muddy from nearly two days of rain, the trotter started from post position five and raced head to head to the half with Jaguar (Billy Parker, Jr.) as the timer flashed 1:00.

But Spano remained undaunted on the limb and kept tapping his horse lightly and to the surprise of the railbirds Four Starz Ransom trotted around Jaguar in the third turn and had command at the three-quarters in 1:31.1.

The sudden stopping by Jaguar, and with first-up trotter Bright Idea (Stephane Bouchard) stalling on the outside, caused confusion among the trailers which allowed Four Starz Ransom to get a two length lead as the field headed for home.

Though most expected Four Starz Ransom to chuck it, the trotter hung on gamely and rebuffed all the late charges. BWT Everytime (Kyle DiBenedetto) ducked inside through the stretch and gained second money and Getthemoney (Jimmy Marohn), last week’s winner in this class and race betting favorite, shook loose too late and had to settle for the show dough.

It was also the third seasonal driving victory for Mike Spano and the 137th of his long career.

Owned by Christine Spano (Mike’s wife) and Nancy Exman, Four Starz Ransom paid $80.00, $24.60 and $8.40 across the board.