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 +
Isaac Castillo 279 17% 48% Good
134
72
73
Elio J Barrera 260 12% 42% Poor
108
71
81
Martin Chuan 241 20% 54% Great
129
61
51
Jacqueline A Davis 221 9% 37% Poor
82
73
66
Luis Alberto Batista 212 14% 49% Good
104
51
57
Erik Barbaran 198 20% 60% Great
119
44
35
Jose A Bracho 191 17% 45% Good
86
60
45
Jose A Batista 185 23% 51% Great
94
45
46
Alexander Bendezu 159 21% 52% Great
83
37
39
Joel Cruz 157 15% 48% Good
75
43
39
Jeffrey Ian Alderson 155 12% 42% Poor
65
36
54
Juan Crawford 155 19% 53% Good
82
34
39
Abner Adorno 151 11% 44% Poor
66
35
50
Rocco Bowen 151 21% 56% Great
85
41
25
Alexander Castillo 150 13% 47% Avg
70
31
49
Keiber J Coa 146 20% 60% Great
88
36
22
Alexander Chavez 139 14% 40% Avg
56
45
38
Ricardo Barrios 130 14% 42% Avg
55
34
41
Reynier Arrieta 122 16% 42% Avg
51
37
34
Carol Cedeno 117 8% 37% Poor
43
37
37
Johanis Aranguren 113 21% 48% Good
54
30
29
Angel I Diaz 104 11% 44% Avg
46
30
28
Norberto Arroyo Jr 100 15% 51% Great
51
32
17
Mauro Cedillo 100 16% 49% Good
49
31
20
Ricardo Chiappe 98 21% 50% Great
49
27
22
Damario Bynoe 97 19% 58% Great
56
18
23
Misael Alvarez 96 5% 27% Bad
26
26
44
Michael A Davila Jr 93 14% 43% Avg
40
27
26
Angel Castillo 84 10% 38% Poor
32
24
28
Renaldo Cumberbatch 77 16% 45% Avg
35
18
24
Gavin Ashton 75 8% 36% Bad
27
19
29
Matilda Burnham 70 7% 30% Bad
21
27
22
Sven Balroop 69 12% 58% Great
40
18
11
Jose R Betancourt 69 4% 28% Bad
19
22
28
Leonardo Corujo 64 17% 45% Good
29
21
14
Desean Bynoe 63 10% 32% Bad
20
17
26
Jose Baez 60 18% 42% Avg
25
16
19
Agustin Bracho 59 7% 37% Poor
22
21
16
Adam Bowman 57 2% 28% Bad
16
17
24
Dario Dalrymple 53 11% 47% Avg
25
15
13
Sheldon Chickeness 44 9% 36% Poor
16
14
14
Michael David 41 7% 27% Bad
11
17
13
Rashawn Brewster 36 8% 36% Avg
13
17
6
Prayven Badrie 35 3% 29% Bad
10
13
12
Mathew Bennett 34 15% 29% Poor
10
16
8
John C Berrios 32 3% 19% Bad
6
7
19
Jan M Baez 31 0% 10% Bad
3
13
15
Brian A Cheyne 29 17% 45% Good
13
11
5
Laird O Bailey 26 4% 12% Bad
3
11
12
Leonel Bolanos 3 0% 0%  - 
0
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”.