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, Betting News 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 Betting News 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.

New to our tools? Read the handicapping tools guide. Also, 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 +
Yarmarie L Correa 255 24% 65% Great
167
62
26
Christopher Elliott 244 6% 29% Bad
71
67
106
Martin Chuan 238 19% 54% Great
128
59
51
Axel Concepcion 231 15% 39% Poor
91
50
90
Luis Alberto Batista 229 14% 48% Good
110
59
60
La Cruz Fernando De 224 19% 45% Avg
101
51
72
Jacqueline A Davis 215 8% 38% Poor
81
70
64
Erik Barbaran 213 20% 59% Great
126
48
39
Jose A Bracho 196 16% 45% Good
88
63
45
Alex Achard 162 14% 38% Poor
62
41
59
Alexander Bendezu 161 21% 53% Great
86
35
40
Joel Cruz 158 13% 43% Avg
68
44
46
Rocco Bowen 155 21% 57% Great
88
43
24
Keiber J Coa 151 23% 61% Great
92
36
23
Abner Adorno 150 9% 42% Poor
63
38
49
Alexander Chavez 145 15% 42% Avg
61
45
39
Emmanuel Esquivel 145 18% 42% Avg
61
38
46
Joseph C Bealmear 138 9% 33% Bad
45
37
56
Ricardo Barrios 134 15% 40% Poor
53
38
43
Alberto Burgos 131 13% 46% Avg
60
31
40
Diego Emanuel De 124 10% 40% Poor
50
34
40
Johanis Aranguren 121 18% 50% Good
60
30
31
Reynier Arrieta 119 17% 44% Good
52
37
30
Angel I Diaz 112 10% 42% Avg
47
33
32
Norberto Arroyo Jr 110 15% 52% Great
57
32
21
Jose Mariano Asencio 108 16% 41% Avg
44
37
27
Damario Bynoe 104 17% 56% Great
58
21
25
Michael A Davila Jr 94 13% 43% Avg
40
27
27
Samuel E Bermudez 91 7% 27% Bad
25
24
42
Inoel Beato 83 22% 55% Great
46
20
17
Renaldo Cumberbatch 83 14% 46% Avg
38
19
26
Angel Castillo 78 8% 40% Poor
31
22
25
Sven Balroop 75 12% 59% Great
44
19
12
Jane Elliott 71 14% 38% Poor
27
19
25
Orlando Bocachica 69 14% 32% Bad
22
21
26
Edgar Diaz 62 16% 45% Avg
28
17
17
Jose Baez 59 20% 46% Good
27
15
17
Nazario Alvarado 58 12% 43% Poor
25
14
19
Agustin Bracho 58 5% 34% Poor
20
22
16
Dario Dalrymple 57 11% 44% Avg
25
16
16
Javier Diego 57 9% 32% Bad
18
19
20
Declan Cannon 48 4% 27% Bad
13
14
21
Sheldon Chickeness 47 9% 36% Bad
17
14
16
A Ceron-Zamudio 40 12% 35% Bad
14
11
15
Mathew Bennett 38 13% 29% Avg
11
19
8
Rashawn Brewster 37 8% 35% Avg
13
18
6
Laird O Bailey 29 3% 14% Bad
4
12
13
Isidro Banuelos 29 7% 34% Bad
10
8
11
McKenna Anderson 27 0% 7% Bad
2
7
18
Victor Carrero 10 20% 30% Bad
3
3
4

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”.