diff --git a/RELEASE-NOTES b/RELEASE-NOTES
index 859abc7..7890a47 100644
--- a/RELEASE-NOTES
+++ b/RELEASE-NOTES
@@ -1,3 +1,9 @@
+version 0.9.9
+-------------
+
+- prioritize mempool processing of sent txs.  Closes issue 73.
+- mempool tx processing needs to handle DBError exceptions.  Fixes issue 74.
+
 version 0.9.8
 -------------
 
diff --git a/server/block_processor.py b/server/block_processor.py
index 7d364a4..2adaa33 100644
--- a/server/block_processor.py
+++ b/server/block_processor.py
@@ -67,8 +67,13 @@ class Prefetcher(LoggedClass):
 
     async def main_loop(self):
         '''Loop forever polling for more blocks.'''
-        self.logger.info('catching up to daemon height {:,d}...'
-                         .format(await self.daemon.height()))
+        daemon_height = await self.daemon.height()
+        if daemon_height > self.fetched_height:
+            log_msg = 'catching up to daemon height {:,d}...'
+        else:
+            log_msg = 'caught up to daemon height {:,d}'
+        self.logger.info(log_msg.format(daemon_height))
+
         while True:
             try:
                 secs = 0
@@ -87,10 +92,7 @@ class Prefetcher(LoggedClass):
         '''Prefetch blocks unless the prefetch queue is full.'''
         # Refresh the mempool after updating the daemon height, if and
         # only if we've caught up
-        daemon_height = await self.daemon.height()
-        if self.caught_up:
-            await self.daemon.refresh_mempool_hashes()
-
+        daemon_height = await self.daemon.height(mempool=self.caught_up)
         cache_room = self.target_cache_size // self.ave_size
         with await self.semaphore:
             # Try and catch up all blocks but limit to room in cache.
diff --git a/server/daemon.py b/server/daemon.py
index 42897b3..2fb2e44 100644
--- a/server/daemon.py
+++ b/server/daemon.py
@@ -36,7 +36,7 @@ class Daemon(util.LoggedClass):
         self.urls = urls
         self.url_index = 0
         self._height = None
-        self.mempool_hashes = set()
+        self._mempool_hashes = set()
         self.mempool_refresh_event = asyncio.Event()
         # Limit concurrent RPC calls to this number.
         # See DEFAULT_HTTP_WORKQUEUE in bitcoind, which is typically 16
@@ -150,10 +150,9 @@ class Daemon(util.LoggedClass):
         # Convert hex string to bytes
         return [bytes.fromhex(block) for block in blocks]
 
-    async def refresh_mempool_hashes(self):
+    async def mempool_hashes(self):
         '''Update our record of the daemon's mempool hashes.'''
-        self.mempool_hashes = set(await self._send_single('getrawmempool'))
-        self.mempool_refresh_event.set()
+        return await self._send_single('getrawmempool')
 
     async def estimatefee(self, params):
         '''Return the fee estimate for the given parameters.'''
@@ -187,11 +186,18 @@ class Daemon(util.LoggedClass):
         '''Broadcast a transaction to the network.'''
         return await self._send_single('sendrawtransaction', params)
 
-    async def height(self):
+    async def height(self, mempool=False):
         '''Query the daemon for its current height.'''
         self._height = await self._send_single('getblockcount')
+        if mempool:
+            self._mempool_hashes = set(await self.mempool_hashes())
+            self.mempool_refresh_event.set()
         return self._height
 
+    def cached_mempool_hashes(self):
+        '''Return the cached mempool hashes.'''
+        return self._mempool_hashes
+
     def cached_height(self):
         '''Return the cached daemon height.
 
diff --git a/server/mempool.py b/server/mempool.py
index 0984154..ce149f3 100644
--- a/server/mempool.py
+++ b/server/mempool.py
@@ -11,7 +11,6 @@ import asyncio
 import itertools
 import time
 from collections import defaultdict
-from functools import partial
 
 from lib.hash import hash_to_str, hex_str_to_hash
 from lib.tx import Deserializer
@@ -40,10 +39,16 @@ class MemPool(util.LoggedClass):
         self.db = db
         self.touched = set()
         self.touched_event = asyncio.Event()
+        self.prioritized = set()
         self.stop = False
         self.txs = {}
         self.hash168s = defaultdict(set)  # None can be a key
 
+    def prioritize(self, tx_hash):
+        '''Prioritize processing the given hash.  This is important during
+        initial mempool sync.'''
+        self.prioritized.add(tx_hash)
+
     def resync_daemon_hashes(self, unprocessed, unfetched):
         '''Re-sync self.txs with the list of hashes in the daemon's mempool.
 
@@ -54,7 +59,7 @@ class MemPool(util.LoggedClass):
         hash168s = self.hash168s
         touched = self.touched
 
-        hashes = self.daemon.mempool_hashes
+        hashes = self.daemon.cached_mempool_hashes()
         gone = set(txs).difference(hashes)
         for hex_hash in gone:
             unfetched.discard(hex_hash)
@@ -105,6 +110,7 @@ class MemPool(util.LoggedClass):
                         self.logger.info('{:,d} txs touching {:,d} addresses'
                                          .format(len(txs), len(self.hash168s)))
                         next_log = now + 150
+                    self.prioritized.clear()
                     await self.daemon.mempool_refresh_event.wait()
 
                 self.resync_daemon_hashes(unprocessed, unfetched)
@@ -137,6 +143,11 @@ class MemPool(util.LoggedClass):
             nonlocal pending
 
             raw_txs = {}
+
+            for hex_hash in self.prioritized:
+                if hex_hash in unprocessed:
+                    raw_txs[hex_hash] = unprocessed.pop(hex_hash)
+
             while unprocessed and len(raw_txs) < limit:
                 hex_hash, raw_tx = unprocessed.popitem()
                 raw_txs[hex_hash] = raw_tx
@@ -147,9 +158,9 @@ class MemPool(util.LoggedClass):
                 deferred = pending
                 pending = []
 
-            process_raw_txs = partial(self.process_raw_txs, raw_txs, deferred)
-            result, deferred = (
-                await loop.run_in_executor(None, process_raw_txs))
+            def job():
+                return self.process_raw_txs(raw_txs, deferred)
+            result, deferred = await loop.run_in_executor(None, job)
 
             pending.extend(deferred)
             hash168s = self.hash168s
@@ -231,10 +242,11 @@ class MemPool(util.LoggedClass):
                     elif not mempool_missing:
                         prev_hash = hex_str_to_hash(prev_hex_hash)
                         txin_pairs.append(db_utxo_lookup(prev_hash, prev_idx))
-            except self.db.MissingUTXOError:
-                # This typically happens just after the daemon has
-                # accepted a new block and the new mempool has deps on
-                # new txs in that block.
+            except (self.db.MissingUTXOError, self.db.DBError):
+                # DBError can happen when flushing a newly processed
+                # block.  MissingUTXOError typically happens just
+                # after the daemon has accepted a new block and the
+                # new mempool has deps on new txs in that block.
                 continue
 
             if mempool_missing:
diff --git a/server/protocol.py b/server/protocol.py
index 9f054b5..020469f 100644
--- a/server/protocol.py
+++ b/server/protocol.py
@@ -104,6 +104,11 @@ class ServerManager(util.LoggedClass):
         '''
         return self.mempool.value(hash168)
 
+    def sent_tx(self, tx_hash):
+        '''Call when a TX is sent.  Tells mempool to prioritize it.'''
+        self.txs_sent += 1
+        self.mempool.prioritize(tx_hash)
+
     def setup_bands(self):
         bands = []
         limit = self.env.bandwidth_limit
@@ -898,8 +903,8 @@ class ElectrumX(Session):
         try:
             tx_hash = await self.daemon.sendrawtransaction(params)
             self.txs_sent += 1
-            self.manager.txs_sent += 1
             self.log_info('sent tx: {}'.format(tx_hash))
+            self.manager.sent_tx(tx_hash)
             return tx_hash
         except DaemonError as e:
             error = e.args[0]
diff --git a/server/version.py b/server/version.py
index 55a9e55..6ea65e0 100644
--- a/server/version.py
+++ b/server/version.py
@@ -1 +1 @@
-VERSION = "ElectrumX 0.9.8"
+VERSION = "ElectrumX 0.9.9"