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 +
Marcelino Pedroza Jr 197 10% 45% Avg
89
46
62
La Cruz Fernando De 196 19% 46% Avg
91
41
64
Amir Mendoza 180 17% 42% Avg
76
47
57
Joseph D Ramos 140 14% 39% Poor
55
32
53
Mitchell Murrill 139 19% 45% Avg
62
31
46
Santo Sanjur 137 9% 43% Poor
59
36
42
Joseph C Bealmear 124 8% 29% Bad
36
34
54
Alberto Burgos 121 12% 45% Avg
55
30
36
Alex Achard 119 18% 43% Avg
51
33
35
Evin A Roman 100 7% 27% Bad
27
29
44
Alexander Crispin 99 13% 22% Bad
22
19
58
Micah Meeks 93 5% 26% Bad
24
20
49
Samuel E Bermudez 92 8% 27% Bad
25
24
43
Rodney A Prescott 88 9% 34% Bad
30
26
32
Hannah Leahey 87 14% 34% Bad
30
21
36
Irving Moncada 83 17% 41% Poor
34
13
36
Joseph M Romero 76 12% 32% Bad
24
19
33
Jose Ramos Gutierrez 74 11% 36% Bad
27
17
30
Diaz Luis E Luna 71 18% 41% Poor
29
15
27
Danny Sheehy 70 7% 24% Bad
17
21
32
Luz Daniel Martinez 69 14% 35% Poor
24
22
23
Rolando Del Rio Pina 69 13% 32% Bad
22
17
30
Summer Pauly 64 14% 36% Bad
23
12
29
G Vazquez-Gomez 62 11% 42% Bad
26
11
25
Emmanuel Esquivel 62 18% 45% Avg
28
17
17
Edgar Diaz 60 15% 43% Avg
26
17
17
Bocanegra D Villamil 53 15% 32% Bad
17
13
23
Andres P Ulloa 51 16% 39% Avg
20
16
15
Fernando Morin 46 9% 39% Bad
18
7
21
Martin Munoz 44 9% 39% Bad
17
11
16
Cristian Penaloza 39 18% 41% Poor
16
6
17
Walter A Rodriguez 35 9% 49% Good
17
10
8
Yovani Flores-Munoz 33 3% 30% Bad
10
5
18
Francisco Quintero 32 3% 22% Bad
7
8
17
Axel Concepcion 30 13% 47% Avg
14
7
9
Isidro Banuelos 27 7% 37% Bad
10
7
10
A Ceron-Zamudio 26 12% 35% Bad
9
6
11
Adam Beschizza 25 20% 56% Good
14
4
7
Hugo Macias 25 4% 20% Bad
5
5
15
Jane Elliott 21 5% 33% Bad
7
5
9
Orlando Mojica 20 5% 25% Bad
5
6
9
Victor R Carrasco 19 16% 53% Great
10
5
4
Gabriel Saez 18 0% 17% Bad
3
8
7
W Antongeorgi III 18 17% 50% Good
9
4
5
Yedsit Hazlewood 15 13% 40% Good
6
6
3
Saul Lopez 14 14% 36% Bad
5
2
7
Humberto Haldar 14 0% 21% Bad
3
6
5
Angel Serpa 13 8% 38% Bad
5
1
7
James Graham 13 31% 62% Great
8
2
3
Germarius A O'Neal 12 0% 17% Bad
2
2
8

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”.