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 +
Jeiron Barbosa 255 22% 54% Good
137
46
72
Kendrick Carmouche 242 10% 30% Bad
73
59
110
Christopher Elliott 242 6% 29% Bad
69
69
104
Martin Chuan 241 20% 54% Great
130
60
51
Luis Alberto Batista 235 14% 48% Good
112
61
62
Erik Barbaran 219 19% 58% Great
128
49
42
Jacqueline A Davis 215 8% 38% Poor
81
69
65
Jose A Bracho 199 17% 45% Good
90
63
46
Alex Birzer 176 15% 49% Good
86
58
32
La Cruz Walter De 166 19% 49% Good
81
49
36
Joel Cruz 159 13% 43% Avg
68
45
46
Rocco Bowen 158 20% 57% Great
90
44
24
Keiber J Coa 155 23% 61% Great
95
37
23
Cristian R Esqueda 155 14% 44% Poor
68
35
52
Abner Adorno 150 9% 42% Poor
63
39
48
Alexander Chavez 150 15% 43% Avg
65
46
39
Emmanuel Esquivel 143 19% 43% Avg
62
36
45
Ricardo Barrios 139 15% 40% Poor
55
39
45
Diego Emanuel De 126 10% 40% Poor
50
34
42
Marvin Fernandez 124 15% 40% Poor
50
30
44
Cristian Alvarado 118 4% 27% Bad
32
36
50
Norberto Arroyo Jr 114 15% 52% Great
59
33
22
Sunday Diaz Jr 114 14% 41% Avg
47
32
35
Angel I Diaz 113 11% 42% Avg
48
33
32
Damario Bynoe 109 17% 55% Great
60
23
26
Mauro Cedillo 106 16% 49% Good
52
33
21
Armando Alvidrez 99 23% 54% Great
53
21
25
Daniel Centeno 98 13% 40% Bad
39
19
40
Michael A Davila Jr 96 12% 43% Avg
41
28
27
Glenn W Corbett 92 17% 41% Avg
38
29
25
Forest Boyce 89 15% 53% Good
47
20
22
Ubardo Casique 89 12% 29% Bad
26
17
46
Giovany Estrada 85 16% 41% Avg
35
25
25
Jean Gregor Briceno 82 9% 29% Bad
24
22
36
Jean Aguilar 81 15% 43% Poor
35
18
28
Angel Castillo 79 9% 41% Poor
32
22
25
Ricardo Feliciano 78 23% 50% Good
39
19
20
Matilda Burnham 66 6% 32% Bad
21
24
21
Nazario Alvarado 60 12% 42% Poor
25
15
20
Jose Baez 60 20% 45% Avg
27
15
18
Adam Bowman 59 2% 27% Bad
16
19
24
Sheldon Chickeness 48 8% 35% Bad
17
15
16
Mathew Bennett 41 12% 32% Avg
13
19
9
Renzo Diaz 37 11% 38% Poor
14
10
13
John C Berrios 32 3% 22% Bad
7
6
19
Laird O Bailey 31 3% 13% Bad
4
13
14
McKenna Anderson 28 0% 7% Bad
2
8
18
Jose Barnes 18 11% 11% Bad
2
5
11
Victor Carrero 11 18% 27% Bad
3
3
5
Brandon C Boulanger 1 0% 0%  - 
0
0
1

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”.