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 +
Axel Concepcion 233 15% 39% Poor
92
50
91
Luis Alberto Batista 223 15% 49% Good
109
55
59
La Cruz Fernando De 220 19% 45% Avg
98
52
70
Jacqueline A Davis 213 8% 37% Poor
79
70
64
Erik Barbaran 207 20% 59% Great
122
47
38
Jose A Bracho 196 17% 45% Good
89
62
45
Roman Cruz 190 22% 49% Good
94
46
50
David Cabrera 162 23% 58% Great
94
32
36
Alex Achard 161 14% 38% Poor
61
40
60
Cordarelton J Benn 158 13% 37% Bad
58
40
60
Joel Cruz 153 14% 44% Avg
67
42
44
Keiber J Coa 146 22% 60% Great
87
36
23
Alexander Chavez 144 15% 42% Avg
60
45
39
Joseph C Bealmear 137 9% 33% Bad
45
37
55
Mario Delgado 136 11% 36% Bad
49
33
54
Ricardo Barrios 133 14% 40% Poor
53
36
44
Alberto Burgos 130 13% 45% Avg
59
31
40
Adam Beschizza 126 7% 28% Bad
35
26
65
Keith J Asmussen 122 11% 33% Bad
40
35
47
Diego Emanuel De 120 11% 40% Poor
48
34
38
Alexander Crispin 115 13% 23% Bad
26
26
63
Norberto Arroyo Jr 109 15% 50% Good
55
33
21
Angel I Diaz 109 10% 43% Avg
47
32
30
Mauro Cedillo 105 16% 50% Great
52
33
20
Damario Bynoe 102 18% 57% Great
58
19
25
Rene Diaz 100 8% 34% Bad
34
30
36
Michael A Davila Jr 93 13% 43% Avg
40
27
26
Samuel E Bermudez 87 7% 29% Bad
25
23
39
Victor R Carrasco 79 8% 35% Bad
28
15
36
Renaldo Cumberbatch 79 15% 46% Avg
36
19
24
Sven Balroop 70 11% 59% Great
41
18
11
Edgar Diaz 61 16% 46% Good
28
17
16
Agustin Bracho 58 5% 36% Poor
21
21
16
Ruben Castro 58 12% 38% Bad
22
10
26
Jose Baez 57 19% 44% Avg
25
15
17
Nazario Alvarado 56 11% 43% Poor
24
13
19
Dario Dalrymple 55 11% 45% Avg
25
16
14
Jimmy Dean Brooks 49 8% 29% Bad
14
16
19
Sheldon Chickeness 45 9% 36% Poor
16
14
15
A Ceron-Zamudio 39 13% 36% Bad
14
10
15
Mathew Bennett 37 14% 30% Avg
11
18
8
Travis Cunningham 37 14% 49% Great
18
13
6
Luna Erick Mayorga De 35 6% 43% Poor
15
10
10
John C Berrios 30 3% 20% Bad
6
6
18
Isidro Banuelos 28 7% 32% Bad
9
8
11
Laird O Bailey 27 4% 15% Bad
4
11
12
Arthur Budhu 27 4% 30% Bad
8
7
12
Reyes Alberto Aranda 20 0% 20% Bad
4
11
5
Juan Arellano 16 0% 19% Bad
3
2
11
Jesus Afanador 5 40% 80% Great
4
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”.