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 264 27% 55% Great
144
64
56
Linda Rice 263 22% 52% Great
138
62
63
Todd A Pletcher 212 16% 48% Good
102
52
58
Christophe Clement 177 15% 49% Good
86
54
37
Rudy R Rodriguez 177 12% 36% Poor
64
52
61
William I Mott 166 16% 46% Avg
77
41
48
Michael J Maker 158 13% 44% Avg
69
45
44
David G Donk 96 6% 32% Bad
31
27
38
Rob Atras 92 13% 51% Good
47
27
18
George Weaver 89 12% 47% Avg
42
20
27
Jorge R Abreu 86 15% 47% Avg
40
16
30
Paz Horacio De 80 16% 44% Poor
35
16
29
Brad H Cox 79 27% 52% Great
41
23
15
Mark A Hennig 79 9% 43% Poor
34
17
28
Michelle Nevin 71 14% 35% Bad
25
12
34
David Jacobson 67 12% 39% Poor
26
18
23
Richard E Dutrow 67 18% 43% Poor
29
11
27
Thomas Morley 65 15% 34% Poor
22
19
24
Raymond Handal 65 14% 45% Avg
29
19
17
James T Ryerson 64 14% 33% Bad
21
15
28
Bruce N Levine 61 10% 43% Bad
26
9
26
Mertkan Kantarmaci 61 13% 39% Poor
24
19
18
Chris J Englehart 60 8% 37% Bad
22
9
29
John P Terranova 55 13% 44% Poor
24
9
22
Charlton Baker 54 4% 20% Bad
11
18
25
Bruce R Brown 54 4% 20% Bad
11
15
28
Oscar S Barrera III 53 11% 34% Bad
18
15
20
Orlando Noda 53 15% 43% Good
23
18
12
Claude R McGaughey 52 21% 50% Good
26
11
15
Mitchell E Friedman 50 10% 42% Bad
21
9
20
James W Ferraro 49 8% 27% Bad
13
11
25
Gustavo Rodriguez 48 6% 35% Bad
17
14
17
Carlos F Martin 47 4% 21% Bad
10
19
18
Gary Sciacca 47 6% 19% Bad
9
8
30
Ilkay Kantarmaci 46 17% 37% Good
17
21
8
Eduardo E Jones 44 5% 11% Bad
5
13
26
H James James Bond 43 9% 33% Bad
14
13
16
Jeremiah C Englehart 42 26% 55% Good
23
6
13
David P Duggan 41 12% 29% Bad
12
16
13
H Graham Motion 40 18% 48% Good
19
13
8
Wayne Potts 39 10% 31% Bad
12
12
15
John C Kimmel 38 16% 45% Avg
17
10
11
Danny Gargan 37 16% 38% Avg
14
12
11
Michael Miceli 37 14% 32% Bad
12
8
17
Robert N Falcone Jr 37 11% 35% Avg
13
15
9
Fernando Abreu 36 8% 42% Bad
15
5
16
Joe Sharp 34 24% 50% Good
17
6
11
Michelle Giangiulio 34 18% 47% Good
16
11
7
Domenick L Schettino 33 6% 15% Bad
5
7
21
Randi Persaud 33 12% 30% Bad
10
11
12

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.