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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 +
Mark E Casse 327 18% 46% Avg
150
78
99
Jamie Ness 287 24% 60% Great
171
61
55
William I Mott 143 12% 40% Poor
57
31
55
W Bret Calhoun 136 15% 44% Avg
60
32
44
Michael E Jones Jr 124 11% 38% Bad
47
29
48
Kent Knudsen 79 11% 32% Bad
25
19
35
Sid C Attard 76 17% 41% Avg
31
20
25
Casey T Lambert 73 12% 40% Poor
29
19
25
Josie Carroll 67 15% 37% Poor
25
21
21
Flint W Stites 66 9% 33% Poor
22
27
17
David M Gomez-Barraza 62 16% 35% Bad
22
13
27
Miguel Angel Silva 61 8% 39% Poor
24
19
18
H G Aldavaz 57 4% 30% Bad
17
15
25
W V Armata 54 7% 37% Bad
20
13
21
D Whitworth Beckman 54 9% 37% Bad
20
13
21
Michelle Nevin 49 10% 37% Poor
18
15
16
Norman McKnight 44 20% 41% Avg
18
11
15
Colten Mead 37 14% 46% Avg
17
10
10
Arturo Chavez 37 14% 30% Bad
11
6
20
Xavier E Rodriguez 36 8% 33% Bad
12
7
17
Mike Abney 34 9% 32% Bad
11
8
15
Phillips C Day 33 18% 48% Good
16
10
7
Arnold Lewis 33 12% 45% Poor
15
7
11
Riley S Aguilar 32 6% 25% Bad
8
5
19
Sean McCarthy 27 7% 37% Bad
10
6
11
Nicholas Nosowenko 26 12% 31% Poor
8
10
8
Steven Miyadi 25 24% 64% Great
16
4
5
Steve Martin 24 8% 42% Bad
10
4
10
Debra E Rombis 23 13% 35% Bad
8
5
10
Travis Robson 22 0% 36% Poor
8
10
4
Reynaldo Yanez 18 0% 33% Bad
6
5
7
Esteban Rubio 17 12% 35% Avg
6
7
4
Lyle W Magnuson 17 18% 82% Great
14
2
1
Ramiro Lopez Zuazo 16 6% 12% Bad
2
2
12
Yasmine M Medina 15 33% 47% Good
7
3
5
Jorge Periban 14 14% 57% Great
8
4
2
M W Salvaggio Jr 13 8% 23% Bad
3
3
7
John P LeBlanc Jr 13 0% 8% Bad
1
3
9
Santos R Perez 12 0% 25% Bad
3
5
4
David D McShane 11 9% 36% Bad
4
2
5
Tony Dean Jones 11 18% 36% Bad
4
2
5
Joan A Reynolds 10 10% 30% Bad
3
3
4
A P Patykewich 10 40% 50% Great
5
2
3
George L Lopez 10 0% 40% Avg
4
4
2
Jim Depew 7 29% 71% Great
5
1
1
Alexander F McPherson 6 0% 33% Poor
2
3
1
Carlos Camarena 6 17% 67% Great
4
2
0
Leonardo Reza 6 0% 0% Bad
0
2
4
Tori Hadley 5 20% 40% Good
2
2
1
Steven Owens 4 25% 75%  - 
3
1
0

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.