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 275 16% 48% Good
132
71
72
Jeiron Barbosa 269 21% 54% Good
146
49
74
Angel Cruz 263 15% 49% Good
128
71
64
Elio J Barrera 257 12% 42% Poor
107
69
81
Yarmarie L Correa 239 25% 66% Great
157
60
22
Martin Chuan 234 21% 53% Great
125
59
50
Luis Alberto Batista 215 14% 48% Good
104
53
58
Erik Barbaran 198 20% 60% Great
119
42
37
Jose A Bracho 190 17% 45% Good
85
60
45
Manuel Americano 187 24% 57% Great
107
45
35
Jose A Batista 180 23% 51% Good
91
43
46
Joel Cruz 154 15% 47% Good
73
43
38
Abner Adorno 150 11% 43% Poor
65
35
50
Alexander Castillo 145 13% 46% Avg
67
31
47
Keiber J Coa 143 20% 59% Great
85
36
22
Alexander Chavez 137 14% 40% Avg
55
44
38
Alberto Burgos 135 13% 45% Avg
61
32
42
Ricardo Barrios 128 13% 42% Avg
54
36
38
Denis Vicente Araujo 127 12% 48% Avg
61
32
34
Alexander Crispin 120 13% 22% Bad
26
28
66
Carol Cedeno 116 8% 37% Poor
43
36
37
Vincent Cheminaud 110 15% 45% Good
49
34
27
Daniel Centeno 103 13% 42% Poor
43
19
41
Mauro Cedillo 99 15% 48% Good
48
31
20
Ricardo Chiappe 97 22% 51% Great
49
27
21
Norberto Arroyo Jr 96 15% 51% Great
49
30
17
Misael Alvarez 95 5% 27% Bad
26
26
43
Inoel Beato 92 22% 54% Great
50
23
19
Damario Bynoe 92 20% 59% Great
54
17
21
Ubardo Casique 88 12% 32% Bad
28
17
43
Wilfredo Corujo 88 10% 40% Avg
35
29
24
Jean Aguilar 79 14% 44% Poor
35
17
27
Rishawn Blanche 76 7% 41% Avg
31
29
16
Jean Gregor Briceno 75 9% 29% Bad
22
19
34
David Cora 71 13% 39% Good
28
31
12
Matilda Burnham 70 7% 30% Bad
21
27
22
Sven Balroop 68 10% 57% Great
39
18
11
Leonardo Corujo 62 18% 47% Good
29
20
13
Nazario Alvarado 59 12% 41% Poor
24
13
22
Jose Baez 58 17% 41% Avg
24
15
19
Olivia Bethke 55 13% 33% Bad
18
18
19
Adam Bowman 55 2% 27% Bad
15
17
23
Brooke Bays 53 23% 55% Great
29
14
10
Jermaine V Bridgmohan 50 16% 48% Great
24
17
9
Sheldon Chickeness 41 10% 34% Bad
14
13
14
Rashawn Brewster 34 9% 35% Avg
12
17
5
Mathew Bennett 32 12% 28% Poor
9
15
8
John C Berrios 31 3% 19% Bad
6
7
18
Laird O Bailey 24 4% 12% Bad
3
9
12
Luis Avila 7 0% 0% Bad
0
6
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”.