Introducing our first big winner: Rick Hausman takes down Jackpot5

Rick Hausman had a busy Sunday: drop his daughter off at college and play the Pacific Classic Stakes day card from Del Mar.

And, oh, yeah: in between those big events he hit TwinSpires.com's new bet, the Jackpot 5, for $31,676.80 on a $243 ticket.

"I knew I was four-for-four going into the final leg but didn't think I'd have the only ticket when the favorite won," Hausman said. "The favorite won, of course, and I figured all I had was 12 tickets for the show payoff and was hoping I got my money back on the bet. When I saw my account balance I couldn't believe it, and my my wife and I started dancing around like schoolchildren."

Hausman won $31,552 for having the lone jackpot ticket (all five winners) and an additional $124.80 for having 12 show combinations. He's played the bet three times and has won on it each time, so he's definitely playing it again this weekend, though probably laying off Friday.

"I'm a weekend player," Hausman said. "Work is going really well right now, so I like to focus on that then put my energy into playing on the weekends. I don't want to jinx myself, but I'm three-for-three playing this bet, so I got to keep playing, right?"

Hausman's rainmaker from his Jackpot sequence was Catduel in race 8 from Calder (leg 2). The Chelsey Cat gelding was returning to turf after being rained off in his last two starts, and of his previous eight lifetime starts, his best Brisnet.com Speed Rating had come on the turf. Catduel outclosed 4-to-5 favorite Ant Hill (who Hausman also used) to set the wheels in motion for his big score.

"I thought for sure with two horses paying less than $5 that there'd be other winners, but I guess [Catduel] was a real separator," said Hausman, who credits his grandmother and stockbroker David Foster--better known as owner-breeder of 1983 Kentucky Derby winner Sunny's Halo--with teaching him out to handicap.

"My grandmother bred and raced horses, and I used to love going to the track with her and talking to her about racing," Hausman said. "I went to the 1997 Breeders' Cup at Woodbine and had the fortune of happening to sit with Sunny's Halo's owner [Foster].

"He was old by then and died the next year. He wasn't seeing very well, so he told me to tell him who I liked and he'd bet. Well, at the end of the day he asked me how I did, and I said, 'Not to well; I hope you did better,' and he said to me, 'Kid, you're a great handicapper but a lousy bettor; I made $3,000 today betting your picks.'

"And ever since then I've paid close attention to how I bet my picks. I always bet a top pick to win if he's 6-to-1 or better, and I used to bet every wager offered but realized I was doing better with the Pick 4s and 5s, so I stick with those. It certainly paid off with the Jackpot."

The $31,676 score was Hausman's second-biggest to date. Amazingly, his bigger score also came on Pacific Classic day when Skimming in 2000 helped key a $53,112 payout for the San Diego-area businessman.

TwinSpires.com offers the Jackpot 5 wager Friday through Sunday on its website. The bet kicks off this weekend's action with a $10,000 carryover. 80% of the pool goes to the show payoff with the other 20% toward the jackpot. Brisnet.com offers FREE Ultimate Past Performances and Daily Selections full-card analysis for the sequence every day.