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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 +
Steven M Asmussen 1726 17% 44% Avg
767
413
546
Brad H Cox 1028 24% 56% Great
571
212
245
Kenneth G McPeek 958 15% 45% Avg
430
217
311
Michael J Maker 914 17% 43% Avg
395
223
296
Ian R Wilkes 827 13% 35% Bad
288
213
326
Dale L Romans 680 14% 36% Bad
247
147
286
Brendan P Walsh 678 15% 41% Poor
275
169
234
Dallas Stewart 636 13% 36% Bad
229
169
238
Joe Sharp 623 18% 45% Avg
279
136
208
Thomas M Amoss 615 17% 45% Avg
279
141
195
Chris A Hartman 573 20% 48% Good
273
130
170
Gregory D Foley 563 14% 40% Poor
224
139
200
Eddie Kenneally 543 17% 45% Avg
242
114
187
George R Arnold 481 17% 40% Poor
190
104
187
Mark E Casse 478 10% 35% Bad
167
118
193
D Wayne Lukas 443 7% 27% Bad
121
102
220
Albert M Stall 413 17% 46% Avg
188
94
131
Ron Moquett 395 10% 35% Bad
137
94
164
William I Mott 393 18% 41% Poor
160
92
141
Michael A Tomlinson 386 13% 37% Bad
141
99
146
W Bret Calhoun 361 15% 43% Poor
155
83
123
Robertino Diodoro 358 17% 47% Avg
170
84
104
Victoria H Oliver 347 11% 37% Bad
130
86
131
Norm W Casse 326 20% 47% Avg
153
65
108
John Alexander Ortiz 319 11% 43% Poor
136
72
111
Ben Colebrook 317 13% 34% Bad
108
80
129
Randy L Morse 306 9% 33% Bad
101
86
119
Brian A Lynch 304 18% 43% Poor
131
61
112
Philip A Bauer 301 16% 48% Avg
145
67
89
Thomas Drury 271 17% 47% Avg
127
56
88
Michelle Lovell 268 12% 41% Poor
111
62
95
Rodolphe Brisset 256 21% 46% Good
119
62
75
J Keith Desormeaux 252 11% 40% Poor
101
61
90
Paul J McGee 251 14% 48% Avg
120
53
78
Brian Williamson 249 11% 36% Poor
89
82
78
Berg Thomas L Van 244 11% 45% Avg
110
58
76
Wayne M Catalano 241 10% 30% Bad
73
56
112
Todd A Pletcher 237 13% 38% Bad
90
49
98
Cherie DeVaux 230 17% 42% Avg
97
54
79
Genaro Garcia 225 16% 44% Avg
98
58
69
Jason Barkley 219 11% 29% Bad
64
56
99
Chad C Brown 207 20% 50% Good
104
43
60
J Larry Jones 203 13% 37% Poor
75
52
76
Wesley A Ward 202 23% 50% Good
100
48
54
Matt A Shirer 200 18% 46% Good
91
59
50
John Ennis 198 9% 35% Bad
70
43
85
Juan Munoz Cano 197 12% 37% Poor
72
53
72
William B Bradley 185 8% 25% Bad
46
43
96
David R Vance 183 14% 39% Poor
71
47
65
Thomas D Vance 177 10% 34% Bad
60
58
59

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.