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 +
Fraser Aebly 301 17% 49% Good
147
85
69
Jeiron Barbosa 271 21% 54% Good
146
49
76
Oscar Andrade Jr 245 16% 43% Poor
106
53
86
Luis Alberto Batista 222 15% 50% Good
110
54
58
Armando Ayuso 216 9% 35% Bad
75
58
83
Junior Alvarado 213 12% 44% Poor
94
41
78
Erik Asmussen 213 22% 50% Good
106
49
58
Silvio Ruiz Amador 176 19% 53% Great
93
51
32
Alex Achard 168 13% 38% Poor
64
42
62
Jeffrey Ian Alderson 164 11% 41% Poor
67
40
57
Francisco Arrieta 155 8% 35% Bad
55
39
61
Armando Aguilar 152 7% 29% Bad
44
32
76
Claudio Ponce Aguilar 148 8% 32% Bad
47
41
60
Joseph C Bealmear 144 9% 33% Bad
47
41
56
Ricardo Barrios 134 14% 42% Avg
56
36
42
Denis Vicente Araujo 127 12% 47% Avg
60
32
35
Keith J Asmussen 119 12% 33% Bad
39
34
46
Rafael Bejarano 118 15% 39% Poor
46
32
40
Johanis Aranguren 114 19% 46% Good
53
30
31
Cristian Alvarado 109 3% 26% Bad
28
32
49
Norberto Arroyo Jr 108 15% 51% Great
55
34
19
Alex V Anaya 101 11% 40% Avg
40
35
26
Armando Alvidrez 95 23% 54% Great
51
20
24
Alfredo L Bautista 91 7% 31% Bad
28
26
37
David Alvarez Jr 90 19% 43% Poor
39
16
35
Austin Adams 87 8% 32% Bad
28
22
37
Sergio Becerra Jr 87 22% 44% Avg
38
21
28
Frank T Alvarado 82 17% 48% Good
39
27
16
Francisco Amparan 77 18% 43% Avg
33
19
25
Aldo Arboleda 76 8% 36% Bad
27
17
32
Gavin Ashton 75 8% 37% Bad
28
18
29
Martin Arriaga 73 21% 60% Great
44
13
16
Daniel Aguilar 69 19% 48% Great
33
23
13
W Antongeorgi III 69 10% 30% Bad
21
11
37
Joseph Belloc Jr 68 10% 40% Bad
27
9
32
Brian Bell 62 21% 60% Great
37
18
7
Larris Allen 60 37% 73% Great
44
13
3
Corry Beland 58 21% 52% Good
30
12
16
Brooke Bays 55 24% 55% Great
30
15
10
Eric Ayala 54 11% 43% Avg
23
16
15
Cesar Belmont 49 6% 27% Bad
13
12
24
Prayven Badrie 39 3% 33% Bad
13
13
13
Minor Arana 33 6% 33% Bad
11
9
13
E T Baird 32 19% 47% Poor
15
3
14
Max Badal 27 4% 26% Avg
7
17
3
Juan Apango 23 17% 74% Great
17
4
2
Medina J Ambrocio 19 11% 47% Good
9
6
4
Anthony J Allen 18 6% 28% Bad
5
6
7
Vidal M Aquino 6 0% 0% Bad
0
2
4
Addiel J Ayala 1 0% 100%  - 
1
0
0

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”.