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Scott Hampton knows what it’s like to cash a big Pick 6 ticket on his own. But he’ll tell you that doing so with a group of friends is much more rewarding.
Hampton hit the Breeders’ Cup Pick 6 in 2015 by himself to the tune of $48,561 on just a $12 ticket.
“That day changed the path of my life,” said the 46-year-old from Union, Ky. “My wife and I were able to build a new home with a large portion of that money, and it opened doors. It really was a life-changer, I can honestly say that.”
Still, there was a “guilt factor.” The group ticket he played bowed out in the first leg that afternoon, leaving Hampton to play a number of more budget friendly combinations by himself.
Vindication came earlier this month when the same bunch of friends combined on an $810 Breeders’ Cup Saturday wager that returned $57,778.70.
“This is a 100% certainty in my mind,” Hampton said. “I honestly felt better winning with my friends.”
The big hit came only after the group changed its collective mind on ticket construction, deciding to “throw in” an extra horse in the Breeders’ Cup Turf. What was initially a $405 investment doubled.
“We very nearly put the entire play on the nose of Bricks and Mortar, but we decided to double up and use Anthony Van Dyck,” Hampton said.
“We were really keying our whole play around trying to beat Sistercharlie,” Hampton said. “We used her, but we were really hoping that one of the Euros would jump up and beat her and things really broke our way there. It certainly started things off on the right foot.”
Even though they were against Chad Brown’s 2018 Filly & Mare Turf winner, the group still felt it needed her on the ticket.
“We didn’t want to let a multiple Grade 1-winning defending champion knock us out, but we certainly were trying to beat her,” Hampton said. “The majority of us were kind of indifferent on which Euro to use, so we kind of used them all.”
Three horses were used in the Breeders’ Cup Sprint, with Shancelot and Catalina Cruiser joining the winner, Mitole. Handicapping was also spot on in the Mile and Distaff as they had both Uni and Blue Prize among three horses in both races on the ticket.
Then came the Turf, where the cost doubled with the addition of Anthony Van Dyck as a safety net.
“We had McKinzie, Code of Honor and Vino Rosso in the Classic,” said Hampton, whose group picked two of the Top 3 finishers at Santa Anita Park.
The Pick 6 returned $56,968.70, and the group cashed on 13 5-of-6 consolation payouts of $162.30 apiece.
Bad memories of the group losing out at Keeneland were wiped away. The group had that year leaned too heavily on Legatissimo in the Filly & Mare Turf.
“She stumbled badly coming out of the gate and that really caused her problems,” Hampton said. “We were 100% singled to her to kick things off, so as a group we were immediately done.”
Individually, Hampton remained alive on that $12 bargain bet that included Stephanie’s Kitten.
“I had $250 invested in the Pick 6 that day,” he said. “About $200 of it was through the group ticket, and the rest I played on smaller tickets on my own. Personally, when I’m playing multi-race sequences, if I have a hundred dollars to spend, I’d say on average I have eight tickets with that $100.”
Small mixes of logical horses, and a few longshot possibilities, made up the various tickets.
“I truly try to criss-cross my combinations,” Hampton said. “I don’t just play one ‘caveman’ ticket.
“I just thought, ‘You know what, what if Golden Horn didn’t win? And what if Legatissimo didn’t win?’ And then it happened together. Lightning struck twice, and it happened.”
Hampton’s friend, Jason Jocher, had flown in from California. The two watched from their seats near the 1/16 pole.
“When American Pharoah passed me I physically had to sit down because I felt like I was about to faint,” Hampton said. “I had my hands on my head and I was yelling to Jason, ‘He didn’t fall, did he? Please tell me he didn’t fall.’”
American Pharoah “responded gallantly and drew away to make every pole a winning one.” per the official chart of his Classic victory.
Four 5-of-6 consolations totaled $1,348.80 along with the $47,212,20 Pick 6 payout. Jocher joined in the fun four years later at Santa Anita when a part of the group that Hampton won with again.
“I truly was on top of the world when we hit that a few weeks ago,” Hampton said, “and especially for Jason because he’s in the racing game as a horse owner out in California. It was incredible.”
