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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 +
Rodriguez Rudy R 1562 17% 48% Good
747
414
401
Rice Linda 1482 20% 53% Great
787
366
329
Pletcher Todd A 779 21% 54% Great
417
195
167
Brown Chad C 772 28% 60% Great
466
195
111
Donk David G 643 10% 36% Bad
232
174
237
Atras Rob 638 25% 58% Great
372
139
127
Englehart Chris J 621 12% 37% Poor
229
169
223
Baker Charlton 535 15% 43% Avg
230
134
171
Nevin Michelle 533 15% 48% Avg
256
131
146
Persaud Randi 529 9% 33% Bad
172
166
191
Sciacca Gary 526 8% 27% Bad
142
153
231
Mott William I 510 18% 46% Good
236
136
138
Englehart Jeremiah C 488 15% 43% Avg
209
117
162
Maker Michael J 488 15% 49% Good
240
117
131
Ferraro James W 477 9% 31% Bad
148
141
188
Handal Raymond 477 16% 45% Avg
216
120
141
Clement Christophe 464 17% 46% Avg
213
125
126
Hennig Mark A 461 11% 35% Bad
163
124
174
Levine Bruce N 458 11% 43% Poor
196
117
145
Noda Orlando 434 11% 38% Poor
165
118
151
Kantarmaci Mertkan 423 13% 43% Avg
181
122
120
Jones Eduardo E 403 4% 20% Bad
81
118
204
Ryerson James T 390 9% 40% Poor
155
119
116
Toscano John T 381 13% 39% Poor
150
115
116
Morley Thomas 367 13% 39% Poor
143
100
124
Potts Wayne 362 15% 43% Poor
155
86
121
Weaver George 360 15% 45% Avg
162
90
108
Barker Edward R 359 13% 40% Avg
143
122
94
Martin Carlos F 346 13% 38% Poor
130
98
118
Contessa Gary C 339 6% 34% Bad
115
106
118
Brown Bruce R 328 10% 32% Bad
106
104
118
Kimmel John C 313 16% 43% Avg
135
90
88
Barrera III Oscar S 301 10% 35% Bad
106
90
105
Englehart Jeffrey S 300 12% 36% Poor
107
90
103
Cox Brad H 279 23% 59% Great
166
55
58
Terranova John P 272 15% 44% Avg
121
75
76
Breen Kelly J 264 15% 45% Avg
118
75
71
Abreu Jorge R 258 17% 47% Avg
120
47
91
Miceli Michael 253 18% 43% Avg
110
55
88
Jacobson David 247 16% 47% Good
117
81
49
Gargan Danny 245 23% 56% Great
138
52
55
Asmussen Steven M 222 15% 47% Good
104
66
52
Falcone Jr Robert N 221 18% 47% Good
103
59
59
Friedman Mitchell E 215 8% 32% Bad
69
68
78
Gyarmati Leah 211 9% 36% Bad
76
51
84
Servis Jason 209 24% 66% Great
137
39
33
DiPrima Gregory 205 4% 27% Bad
56
61
88
Bond H James 204 17% 40% Poor
81
54
69
D'Alessandro Ralph 202 12% 32% Bad
65
48
89
Chichakly Amira 201 8% 26% Bad
53
61
87

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.