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 289 19% 50% Good
145
80
64
Jeiron Barbosa 248 22% 54% Great
135
46
67
Oscar Andrade Jr 245 16% 42% Poor
102
57
86
Luis Alberto Batista 238 15% 48% Good
114
62
62
Erik Barbaran 221 19% 58% Great
129
50
42
Junior Alvarado 213 12% 43% Poor
91
43
79
Erik Asmussen 198 20% 47% Avg
93
44
61
Silvio Ruiz Amador 182 20% 54% Great
99
52
31
Alex Birzer 177 16% 50% Great
89
58
30
Manuel Americano 175 25% 58% Great
102
46
27
Alexander Bendezu 162 20% 54% Great
87
36
39
Jose A Batista 157 24% 50% Good
78
37
42
Francisco Arrieta 154 12% 40% Poor
61
37
56
Armando Aguilar 153 8% 28% Bad
43
32
78
Jeffrey Ian Alderson 150 11% 41% Poor
61
35
54
Abner Adorno 148 9% 41% Poor
61
40
47
Ricardo Barrios 146 16% 40% Avg
59
40
47
Scott A Bethke 126 22% 52% Great
66
30
30
Adam Beschizza 123 7% 28% Bad
34
25
64
Rafael Bejarano 122 15% 39% Poor
48
33
41
Cristian Alvarado 119 4% 27% Bad
32
36
51
Johanis Aranguren 119 19% 50% Good
60
29
30
Keith J Asmussen 119 10% 34% Bad
40
33
46
Norberto Arroyo Jr 118 14% 52% Good
61
33
24
David Alvarez Jr 103 19% 44% Avg
45
20
38
Armando Alvidrez 103 23% 53% Great
55
22
26
Alex V Anaya 99 11% 38% Poor
38
34
27
Frank T Alvarado 93 16% 47% Good
44
31
18
Sergio Becerra Jr 92 17% 39% Poor
36
22
34
Austin Adams 91 8% 32% Bad
29
23
39
Jose L Alvarez 88 18% 43% Avg
38
26
24
Alfredo L Bautista 83 5% 28% Bad
23
21
39
Daniel Aguilar 79 18% 47% Great
37
28
14
Martin Arriaga 76 20% 58% Great
44
14
18
W Antongeorgi III 74 12% 32% Bad
24
11
39
Aldo Arboleda 71 10% 39% Bad
28
13
30
Francisco Amparan 67 16% 42% Avg
28
18
21
Joseph Belloc Jr 67 10% 39% Bad
26
9
32
Jesus Rios Ayala 64 12% 41% Avg
26
22
16
Victor Jadhir Bailon 60 10% 35% Poor
21
21
18
Larris Allen 57 33% 72% Great
41
13
3
Brian Cobos Barraza 54 24% 46% Avg
25
9
20
Minor Arana 45 7% 33% Bad
15
13
17
E T Baird 38 24% 53% Good
20
4
14
Prayven Badrie 36 3% 39% Poor
14
11
11
Kemarie Blackett 34 3% 47% Bad
16
5
13
Juan Apango 25 16% 76% Great
19
4
2
Anthony J Allen 18 11% 28% Poor
5
8
5
David Boraco 13 8% 23% Bad
3
6
4
Carlos Barbosa 2 0% 0%  - 
0
2
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”.