Daily Horse Picks - Top Jockey

While oftentimes horses win or lose races on their own, jockeys and trainers can play a key role in giving their horse the best chance to run to their potential. While horseplayers can look up jockey win percentages in a number of places across the web, the Daily Horse Picks jockey analysis tool provides a more in depth analysis of where jockeys may have a stronger impact on the outcome of a race.

Race setups are very different based on distance and surface. A sprint on dirt may require different tactics than a sprint on turf or a route on dirt. Even though a jockey may have an overall low percentage, they may get a disproportionate number of their wins or in-the-money finishes at a specific distance on a specific surface. If you can find this jockey you may be able to cash on a horse that other players are throwing out. Inversely, if you can find a high percentage jockey with bad stats in today's conditions, that can be equally as profitable.

With the Daily Horse Picks jockey analysis tool you can break down jockey stats by distance, surface, track, claiming level, and even post position to find these hidden angles that can be crucial elements in selecting winners at a price. As you adjust the filters the ratings will also adjust to reflect the jockey's past ability to finish in the top 3 placings in races under the selected conditions.

Don't forget to check out the trainer analysis tool to give yourself a further edge on the competition!

Track

Surface

Condition

Distances

Race Types

Posts

Top Jockeys

Name Starts Win % Show % DHP
1st/2nd/3rd
4th or 5th
6th +
Civaci Sahin 237 26% 59% Great
140
44
53
Aebly Fraser 231 12% 35% Bad
80
58
93
Hernandez Rafael Manuel 206 20% 55% Good
114
31
61
Campos Jose Luis 178 10% 31% Bad
56
56
66
Birzer Alex 139 23% 58% Great
81
41
17
Flores Eswan 132 8% 31% Bad
41
40
51
Canales Jesus J 130 15% 35% Poor
45
38
47
Gaskin Da-Sean Zavier 112 11% 32% Bad
36
23
53
Carrillo Daniel 104 7% 25% Bad
26
30
48
Garcia Ramiro Haro 103 34% 60% Great
62
23
18
Valenzuela Jesus 93 23% 49% Great
46
25
22
Corbett Glenn W 92 21% 54% Great
50
23
19
Kellenberger Kody 92 9% 32% Bad
29
13
50
Crawford Juan 86 6% 31% Bad
27
23
36
Alderson Jeffrey Ian 80 8% 35% Bad
28
26
26
Esqueda Cristian R 79 16% 37% Avg
29
27
23
Husbands Patrick 75 24% 51% Great
38
18
19
Ironeyes Jayden R 74 14% 34% Bad
25
22
27
Contreras Luis 72 8% 39% Bad
28
15
29
Cervantes Oscar 70 9% 33% Bad
23
15
32
De La Torre Julio 62 11% 35% Bad
22
11
29
Dominguez Felipe F 60 17% 28% Bad
17
11
32
Moreno Cesar T 59 17% 34% Bad
20
16
23
Chernetz Skye 58 9% 24% Bad
14
19
25
Alvidrez Armando 56 14% 57% Good
32
10
14
Fukumoto Daisuke 56 7% 34% Bad
19
13
24
Aguilar Daniel 48 12% 52% Avg
25
9
14
Calderon Francisco 47 11% 43% Bad
20
8
19
Fonseca-Soto Fernando 45 11% 40% Poor
18
11
16
Cardoso David 43 19% 42% Bad
18
4
21
Bynoe Desean 39 8% 26% Bad
10
9
20
Candanosa Bryan 39 18% 54% Good
21
7
11
Dominguez Uriel 38 16% 39% Poor
15
9
14
Enriquez Jose Luis 37 11% 46% Bad
17
4
16
Arriola-Serrano Jose 35 6% 31% Bad
11
6
18
Dominguez Jonathan 34 9% 32% Bad
11
12
11
Ramos Manuel 32 6% 16% Bad
5
5
22
Enriquez Jacob 32 22% 47% Good
15
7
10
Brooks Jimmy Dean 31 13% 32% Bad
10
5
16
Garcia Jr Noe Jr 29 21% 52% Great
15
10
4
Estrada Giovany 27 0% 30% Bad
8
7
12
Cardenas Christian 21 10% 48% Poor
10
4
7
Flores James A 21 5% 14% Bad
3
5
13
Becerra Jr Sergio 19 5% 42% Bad
8
4
7
Iturralde Omar 16 6% 38% Poor
6
5
5
Klaiber Justine 12 8% 42% Avg
5
4
3
Castro Ruben 9 33% 56% Good
5
0
4
Anderson Jodeien 8 0% 12% Bad
1
1
6
Constantin Lucas 7 0% 0% Bad
0
3
4
Dominguez Sergio G 4 0% 25%  - 
1
1
2

Why Jockeys Matter?

Jockeys are pivotal for a couple of different reasons in a horse race. First, jockeys are responsible for positioning horses once the gates open. This may include getting them to the lead or dropping them into the proper position based on the horses preferred run style.

The second responsibility that jockeys have is to help the horse understand when to rate their energy and when to run. A jockey with a bad internal clock can leave his horse with too much to do late or chase after a pace that is way too fast for his horse.

The final role of the jockey is steering the horse into the path that will allow them to have the strongest finish to the wire. For all of these reasons having a good jockey on the horse you’re backing can be a great asset for any horse player.

Why is the Top Jockey Tool Helpful?

Horses can be upgraded or downgraded based on their jockeys, but many people will look at the overall percentage of a jockey and make their decision. However, jockeys tend to be specialists. There are very few that excel over all surfaces and distances. The DHP top jockey tool can help you break down jockeys by track, surface, condition, distance, level, and post position to better determine how they are likely to impact the horse’s race.

Using the Top Jockey Tool for a Race

To use the top jockey tool follow the steps below:

  1. Change the drop down menus to match any or all of the conditions for the race you are handicapping.
    • Track: Different tracks have different configurations. A jockey with success at the track could mean that they have a better understanding of how to ride there as opposed to riders who more recently shipped in.
    • Surface: Dirt and turf races are run in exact opposite dynamics. A good gate rider is likely to upgrade a horse on dirt because the race tends to reward early speed. Conversely on turf the best riders are good at knowing when to time their acceleration as the horses tend to run the fastest in the last part of the race.
    • Condition: This factor plays the biggest role when the ground is not fast or firm. A lot of tracks will drain water in different ways and a jockey with a good score on an off track could suggest they know how to avoid tiring paths on the track.
    • Distance: Horse races are often classified as either sprints (less than 8 furlongs) or routes (one mile and over). However, dynamics can change dramatically depending on the various lengths within each of these categories.
    • Race Types: Not all horses are the same. Knowing how a jockey does in a particular condition can be very important. For example, a gate rider might be better in a maiden race because those horses haven’t learned to win and may be hesitant to pass other horses. If you have a jockey that can get to the lead in these races that may suggest they can steal the race. A jockey who performs well in stakes races may suggest the jockey know how to get the most out of talented horses.
    • Barriers/Post Positions: Post positions can also be a vital factor in picking your jockey. Riders with success in post 1-3 are typically good at getting horses out quickly so as to avoid horses trying to merge down closer to the rail and avoid ground loss. Riders better in outer posts may be more adept at getting horses positioned correctly behind speed horses for a final run to the finish.
  2. Once you have set any or all of the filters, select the “Refresh Charts” button to see the updated data which reflects your race.

Using the Top Jockey Tool for an Individual Jockey

While the top jockey tool is extremely effective for looking at all the jockeys side by side, another useful tool is looking up an individual jockey.

This can be done from the top jockey charts. Simply find the jockey you want to look up and click their name. You will now see a report of their rating and percentages at every one of the filters from the top jockey tool.

Using this view you may be able to identify spots where you can beat a high percentage jockey. For example, the leading rider in the country Irad Ortiz Jr. is rated “Great” in most categories, except when his horses break from posts 10+. From these posts he is rated as “Poor”.