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 295 19% 52% Great
152
78
65
Elio J Barrera 271 13% 42% Avg
115
75
81
Jeiron Barbosa 267 23% 55% Great
147
50
70
Luis Alberto Batista 234 14% 48% Good
112
62
60
Junior Alvarado 217 14% 44% Poor
95
45
77
Erik Barbaran 212 19% 58% Great
123
48
41
Manuel Americano 190 24% 58% Great
110
52
28
Jose A Bracho 189 17% 44% Good
84
60
45
Bueno Nomar Arroyo 172 18% 51% Great
87
54
31
Alexander Bendezu 165 21% 54% Great
89
36
40
Alex Achard 160 15% 38% Poor
61
40
59
Francisco Arrieta 160 13% 42% Poor
67
36
57
Claudio Ponce Aguilar 159 11% 35% Bad
55
40
64
Cordarelton J Benn 156 12% 36% Bad
56
43
57
Jeffrey Ian Alderson 155 11% 39% Poor
61
36
58
Rocco Bowen 153 20% 56% Great
86
42
25
Abner Adorno 144 9% 40% Poor
57
39
48
Denis Vicente Araujo 138 11% 49% Avg
67
34
37
Joseph C Bealmear 135 9% 31% Bad
42
38
55
Alberto Burgos 134 13% 47% Avg
63
30
41
Adam Beschizza 128 6% 30% Bad
39
26
63
Rafael Bejarano 126 13% 39% Poor
49
34
43
Arnaldo Bocachica 111 25% 51% Great
57
29
25
Rolando Cabrera 111 9% 35% Bad
39
23
49
Armando Alvidrez 104 23% 54% Great
56
22
26
Austin Adams 98 7% 32% Bad
31
24
43
Samuel E Bermudez 95 7% 28% Bad
27
24
44
Forest Boyce 95 14% 51% Good
48
22
25
Jean Aguilar 77 16% 48% Avg
37
14
26
Gavin Ashton 75 8% 37% Bad
28
19
28
W Antongeorgi III 73 12% 36% Bad
26
12
35
Inoel Beato 73 21% 58% Great
42
18
13
Rishawn Blanche 73 5% 37% Avg
27
33
13
Matilda Burnham 71 6% 32% Bad
23
26
22
Arturo Alvarez 70 11% 30% Bad
21
20
29
Kelvin Arana 68 12% 32% Bad
22
16
30
Olivia Bethke 67 13% 40% Avg
27
23
17
Desean Bynoe 64 11% 33% Bad
21
16
27
Adam Bowman 57 2% 23% Bad
13
19
25
Jermaine V Bridgmohan 57 16% 49% Great
28
19
10
J D Acosta 56 18% 43% Good
24
21
11
Brooke Bays 55 24% 55% Great
30
15
10
Jimmy Dean Brooks 49 8% 29% Bad
14
16
19
Kemarie Blackett 42 7% 45% Poor
19
8
15
Donell Blake 40 20% 40% Avg
16
12
12
Prayven Badrie 37 5% 43% Poor
16
11
10
Isidro Banuelos 28 7% 39% Bad
11
7
10
Manuel Aguilar 16 12% 31% Poor
5
6
5
Jacobo Adan Aguilar 14 7% 14% Bad
2
5
7
Alexis X Batista 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”.