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 +
Chad C Brown 251 27% 54% Great
136
62
53
Linda Rice 247 21% 52% Great
129
60
58
Todd A Pletcher 203 16% 49% Good
99
49
55
Christophe Clement 177 15% 49% Good
86
54
37
Rudy R Rodriguez 166 11% 36% Poor
60
47
59
William I Mott 159 16% 47% Avg
74
40
45
Michael J Maker 152 14% 43% Avg
65
45
42
David G Donk 89 6% 31% Bad
28
25
36
Rob Atras 88 14% 52% Great
46
26
16
Jorge R Abreu 84 15% 46% Avg
39
15
30
George Weaver 79 14% 49% Avg
39
18
22
Paz Horacio De 73 15% 42% Poor
31
14
28
Brad H Cox 73 27% 53% Great
39
20
14
Mark A Hennig 73 10% 42% Poor
31
15
27
Michelle Nevin 68 15% 37% Bad
25
11
32
David Jacobson 67 12% 39% Poor
26
18
23
Raymond Handal 65 14% 45% Avg
29
19
17
Thomas Morley 62 15% 34% Poor
21
19
22
Mertkan Kantarmaci 61 13% 39% Poor
24
19
18
James T Ryerson 61 15% 34% Bad
21
14
26
Chris J Englehart 60 8% 37% Bad
22
9
29
Richard E Dutrow 60 18% 45% Poor
27
9
24
Bruce N Levine 58 10% 43% Bad
25
7
26
John P Terranova 52 12% 40% Bad
21
9
22
Charlton Baker 52 4% 17% Bad
9
18
25
Oscar S Barrera III 50 12% 36% Bad
18
13
19
Bruce R Brown 50 4% 20% Bad
10
14
26
Orlando Noda 50 14% 42% Avg
21
17
12
Claude R McGaughey 50 20% 48% Good
24
11
15
Gustavo Rodriguez 47 6% 34% Bad
16
14
17
Mitchell E Friedman 47 9% 43% Bad
20
8
19
James W Ferraro 45 9% 27% Bad
12
10
23
Carlos F Martin 44 5% 23% Bad
10
17
17
Eduardo E Jones 43 5% 12% Bad
5
12
26
Gary Sciacca 43 5% 16% Bad
7
8
28
H James James Bond 42 10% 33% Bad
14
13
15
H Graham Motion 40 18% 48% Good
19
13
8
David P Duggan 40 12% 30% Bad
12
15
13
Ilkay Kantarmaci 40 20% 38% Good
15
18
7
Jeremiah C Englehart 39 26% 54% Good
21
6
12
John C Kimmel 38 16% 45% Avg
17
10
11
Danny Gargan 37 16% 38% Avg
14
12
11
Robert N Falcone Jr 36 8% 33% Poor
12
15
9
Michael Miceli 35 14% 31% Bad
11
7
17
Michelle Giangiulio 34 18% 47% Good
16
11
7
Wayne Potts 34 12% 29% Bad
10
12
12
Randi Persaud 33 12% 30% Bad
10
11
12
Fernando Abreu 33 9% 45% Poor
15
5
13
Domenick L Schettino 32 6% 16% Bad
5
7
20
Mark E Casse 32 9% 41% Avg
13
13
6

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.