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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 1738 17% 44% Avg
769
418
551
Brad H Cox 1032 24% 56% Great
573
213
246
Kenneth G McPeek 960 15% 45% Avg
431
217
312
Michael J Maker 915 17% 43% Avg
395
223
297
Ian R Wilkes 828 13% 35% Bad
289
213
326
Dale L Romans 683 14% 36% Bad
248
148
287
Brendan P Walsh 680 15% 40% Poor
275
169
236
Dallas Stewart 641 13% 36% Bad
230
169
242
Joe Sharp 625 19% 45% Avg
281
136
208
Thomas M Amoss 616 17% 45% Avg
279
141
196
Chris A Hartman 577 20% 47% Good
273
133
171
Gregory D Foley 565 14% 40% Poor
226
139
200
Eddie Kenneally 544 17% 45% Avg
243
114
187
Mark E Casse 481 10% 35% Bad
167
119
195
George R Arnold 481 17% 40% Poor
190
104
187
D Wayne Lukas 443 7% 27% Bad
121
102
220
Albert M Stall 414 17% 46% Avg
189
94
131
Ron Moquett 398 10% 35% Bad
138
95
165
William I Mott 395 17% 41% Poor
160
94
141
Michael A Tomlinson 387 13% 37% Bad
142
99
146
W Bret Calhoun 363 15% 43% Poor
155
84
124
Robertino Diodoro 362 17% 47% Avg
170
86
106
Victoria H Oliver 348 11% 38% Bad
131
86
131
Norm W Casse 330 20% 47% Avg
156
65
109
John Alexander Ortiz 321 11% 43% Poor
137
72
112
Ben Colebrook 317 13% 34% Bad
108
80
129
Randy L Morse 308 9% 33% Bad
103
86
119
Brian A Lynch 307 18% 43% Poor
132
61
114
Philip A Bauer 303 16% 48% Avg
145
68
90
Thomas Drury 271 17% 47% Avg
127
56
88
Michelle Lovell 268 12% 41% Poor
111
62
95
Rodolphe Brisset 257 21% 46% Good
119
62
76
J Keith Desormeaux 254 11% 40% Poor
101
61
92
Paul J McGee 252 13% 48% Avg
121
53
78
Brian Williamson 250 11% 36% Poor
90
82
78
Berg Thomas L Van 245 11% 45% Avg
110
58
77
Wayne M Catalano 242 10% 31% Bad
74
56
112
Todd A Pletcher 237 13% 38% Bad
90
49
98
Cherie DeVaux 234 17% 41% Poor
97
55
82
Genaro Garcia 227 15% 44% Avg
99
58
70
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
Matt A Shirer 203 17% 45% Good
92
60
51
Wesley A Ward 202 23% 50% Good
100
48
54
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 178 10% 34% Bad
60
58
60

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.