Betting News - Top Trainers

Although natural ability plays a role in every horse race around the country, there is undoubtedly a human impact on the outcome of races. Jockeys and trainers can help horses reach their potential or prevent them from achieving it. Betting News trainer analysis tool is here to help horseplayers understand which type of trainers have runners in today's race.

One of the key elements of understanding trainers is the fact that trainers are creatures of habit. When they find something that works, they will repeat it over and over. This may include frequent success at a certain distance, on a certain surface, at a certain level, or during a specific meet. This is where the power of Betting News' trainer analysis tool can be a huge asset to any handicapper.

By using the filters a player can get away from using standard win and in-the-money percentages and instead break down how the trainer specifically does in races that fit today's conditions. This may suggest that a super trainer that everyone is likely to use may not have the horse ready to go today or that the little low percentage barn is ready to fire their one shot today. Either way it can mean a profitable day at the races. As you adjust the filters the DHP ratings will also adjust to reflect the trainer's proficiency at getting a horse in-the-money under the selected conditions.

Don't forget to check out the jockey analysis tool to give yourself a further edge on the competition!

Track

Surface

Condition

Distances

Race Types

Posts

Top Trainers

Name Starts Win % Show % DHP
1st/2nd/3rd
4th or 5th
6th +
Steven M Asmussen 547 14% 46% Avg
252
130
165
Dee Keener 209 15% 43% Poor
90
47
72
William I Mott 162 16% 39% Poor
63
41
58
W Bret Calhoun 152 22% 55% Great
83
36
33
Philip D'Amato 138 24% 55% Great
76
27
35
Jesus Ruben Ruiz 134 7% 31% Bad
42
26
66
Ron Moquett 124 19% 44% Avg
54
30
40
Tanner Tracy 110 15% 41% Poor
45
30
35
Steve R Knapp 99 14% 41% Poor
41
25
33
McLean Robertson 90 18% 46% Good
41
26
23
Leonard Powell 82 9% 40% Poor
33
25
24
Todd W Fincher 81 22% 62% Great
50
15
16
Luz Chavira 76 5% 28% Bad
21
24
31
Dallas Stewart 72 18% 39% Poor
28
17
27
John W Sadler 68 31% 59% Great
40
17
11
Juan Carlos Avila 67 24% 55% Great
37
17
13
Wayne Potts 65 6% 48% Avg
31
19
15
Jeff Mullins 61 25% 59% Great
36
12
13
Greg Green 56 25% 59% Great
33
12
11
Armando Hernandez 55 13% 55% Good
30
13
12
Timothy E Martin 50 2% 18% Bad
9
10
31
Simon J Buechler 46 11% 39% Avg
18
16
12
Daniel Hernandez 45 7% 20% Bad
9
17
19
Guadalupe Preciado 45 20% 47% Good
21
12
12
Tim Yakteen 42 14% 40% Poor
17
11
14
Michael V Casselman 42 19% 36% Poor
15
12
15
Jesus J Uranga 41 7% 32% Poor
13
17
11
Chad Summers 40 12% 38% Poor
15
12
13
M A Chavez-Gutierrez 40 18% 60% Great
24
5
11
Tyler Cole Crawford 37 5% 14% Bad
5
15
17
Aaron Shorter 37 5% 30% Bad
11
12
14
Brian J Koriner 32 19% 53% Great
17
10
5
Elena Andrade 31 16% 42% Avg
13
9
9
Kenneth M Cox 30 17% 60% Great
18
7
5
Josh Taylor 27 7% 22% Bad
6
7
14
Isidro Tamayo 27 19% 48% Avg
13
4
10
Phillip Capuano 25 20% 52% Great
13
8
4
Martin Drexler 23 9% 43% Poor
10
5
8
Brendan W Galvin 23 9% 22% Bad
5
11
7
Rita Deleon 23 0% 26% Bad
6
8
9
Casey Schleis 20 10% 20% Bad
4
5
11
Luis F Gonzalez 19 5% 32% Bad
6
4
9
Tim Woolley 15 7% 53% Good
8
4
3
Christopher Seale 15 13% 33% Bad
5
4
6
Danele Durham 15 7% 27% Bad
4
4
7
Felix Rondan 13 0% 23% Poor
3
8
2
Jose Chavez 11 18% 45% Avg
5
2
4
Mark Rheinford 4 25% 25%  - 
1
0
3
Mark Barnes 4 25% 25%  - 
1
1
2
Daniel G Martinez 1 0% 0%  - 
0
0
1

Why Trainers Matter?

Trainers are entrusted by the owners of the horse to prepare them to win races. Think of a trainer like the coach of a team. Individually the trainer cannot win the race, but the way the trainer prepares the athlete for the race can maximize the horse’s ability. This becomes especially important as horses start to mature beyond their two year old season.

Why is the DHP Top Trainer Tool Helpful?

Horses can be upgraded or downgraded based on their trainers, but many people will overgeneralize the effectiveness of a trainer based on their overall win percentage. However, even the best trainers have blind spots and the weakest trainers have some ability that allows them to pay bills and attract new owners to their barn.

Using the DHP Top Trainer 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: Many trainers will have meets that they like to point their horses to. It is very hard to have horses fully cranked year round. Knowing which meets a trainer targets can be a great separator.
    • Surface: With dirt and turf surfaces running so dramatically different in terms of race flow, it is not surprising that many trainers who excel on dirt are less effective with turf runners. The same is true for those who are prolific with turfers.
    • Condition: This factor plays the biggest role when the ground is not fast or firm. Off tracks typically will favor trainers that are good at putting early speed into their horses.
    • 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. If a trainer is good at training sprinters, they may be left vulnerable in route races and vice versa.
    • Race Types: This is especially important for trainers. Some trainers get the best of the best talent at the track which will be reflected with high marks in the stakes and allowance ranks. Some trainers are masters of the claiming game (buying and selling horses out of races). A claiming trainer who sends out a stakes runner may be in too deep. A top stakes trainer may be racking up high percentages with good animals but when they drop to the claiming ranks, they can’t move average horses forward. Understanding which levels the trainer excels at is paramount to unlocking hidden value in races.
    • Barriers/Post Positions: Post position stats for trainers are of limited importance and may be used to eliminate horses in clear weak spots for the trainer, but likely won’t uncover any actionable angle by itself. This filter can still be useful, but should be used in combinations with other filters in the menu.
  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 Trainer Tool for an Individual Trainer

While the top trainer tool is extremely effective for comparing all trainers in a given race, it can also be a major factor when analyzing an individual trainer.

This can be done from the top trainer charts. Simply find the trainer 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 trainer tool.

Using this view you may be able to identify spots where you can beat a high percentage trainer. For example, Bob Baffert wins at a nearly 30% clip across all races. His horses are often crushed at the windows and offer little value. However, looking closer at the trainer profile the is rated as “Poor” on turf. Many people will see the 28% winning percentage and bet his horses without recognizing that many of his turf runners do not perform to the level of his dirt contingent. This can provide a great advantage for the horse player who can look to fade this super trainer on turf.