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 255 16% 49% Good
124
65
66
Elio J Barrera 245 11% 41% Poor
101
66
78
La Cruz Fernando De 242 18% 43% Avg
104
52
86
Yarmarie L Correa 222 25% 68% Great
150
50
22
Jacqueline A Davis 221 10% 38% Poor
85
69
67
Luis Alberto Batista 217 14% 47% Avg
101
53
63
Erik Barbaran 209 20% 60% Great
126
42
41
Jose A Bracho 191 16% 45% Good
85
60
46
Alex Achard 173 14% 39% Poor
67
43
63
Jose Luis Campos 172 13% 39% Poor
67
51
54
Joel Cruz 162 15% 47% Good
76
47
39
Juan Crawford 158 20% 54% Great
85
35
38
Joseph C Bealmear 153 8% 32% Bad
49
44
60
Jeffrey Ian Alderson 150 13% 42% Poor
63
35
52
Keiber J Coa 150 21% 61% Great
92
36
22
Emmanuel Esquivel 150 19% 42% Avg
63
39
48
Da-Sean Zavier Gaskin 145 11% 46% Avg
66
40
39
Alberto Burgos 141 13% 45% Avg
64
34
43
Alexander Castillo 141 13% 46% Avg
65
31
45
Adam Beschizza 129 5% 28% Bad
36
25
68
Alexander Chavez 129 12% 39% Poor
50
42
37
Ricardo Barrios 128 14% 42% Avg
54
37
37
Diego Emanuel De 128 13% 39% Poor
50
36
42
Alexander Crispin 125 12% 22% Bad
28
29
68
Keith J Asmussen 115 10% 32% Bad
37
34
44
Angel I Diaz 112 12% 46% Avg
52
32
28
Victor R Fernandez 110 13% 51% Good
56
26
28
Francisco Garcia 108 11% 32% Poor
35
38
35
Jeremias Flores 104 14% 48% Good
50
27
27
Mauro Cedillo 103 15% 48% Good
49
34
20
Daisuke Fukumoto 103 15% 47% Avg
48
26
29
Steven Fret 99 10% 38% Avg
38
36
25
Samuel E Bermudez 97 7% 29% Bad
28
24
45
Misael Alvarez 93 5% 28% Bad
26
26
41
Michael A Davila Jr 90 14% 44% Avg
40
25
25
Ricardo Feliciano 76 24% 51% Great
39
18
19
Orlando Bocachica 65 11% 26% Bad
17
20
28
Jose Baez 62 16% 42% Avg
26
17
19
Desean Bynoe 62 11% 29% Bad
18
19
25
Nazario Alvarado 59 8% 37% Bad
22
13
24
Kyle Gilbert 56 9% 27% Bad
15
16
25
Michael David 47 9% 28% Bad
13
21
13
John C Berrios 34 3% 18% Bad
6
6
22
Samuel Camacho Jr 31 3% 29% Bad
9
9
13
McKenna Anderson 30 0% 7% Bad
2
9
19
Jan M Baez 29 0% 10% Bad
3
12
14
Emmanuel Giles 28 4% 29% Bad
8
8
12
Brian A Cheyne 27 11% 41% Avg
11
10
6
Laird O Bailey 23 4% 13% Bad
3
8
12
David Boraco 13 8% 23% Bad
3
4
6

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”.