betonline banner
betonline banner

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 +
Doug F O'Neill 1107 12% 40% Poor
439
275
393
Peter Miller 958 19% 48% Good
457
223
278
Philip D'Amato 896 18% 46% Avg
412
222
262
John W Sadler 615 16% 45% Avg
277
150
188
Mark Glatt 556 15% 51% Avg
283
106
167
Richard Baltas 550 15% 40% Poor
220
135
195
Robert B Hess 474 14% 39% Poor
186
139
149
Bob Baffert 472 29% 61% Great
290
99
83
George Papaprodromou 463 11% 37% Bad
170
104
189
Michael W McCarthy 383 14% 38% Bad
144
83
156
Jeff Mullins 376 14% 39% Poor
148
83
145
Peter Eurton 366 17% 39% Poor
143
90
133
Richard E Mandella 341 15% 45% Avg
152
84
105
Brian J Koriner 291 14% 40% Poor
117
75
99
Mike Puype 277 10% 32% Bad
88
67
122
Carla Gaines 258 12% 40% Poor
104
61
93
Vladimir Cerin 242 16% 43% Avg
104
62
76
Leonard Powell 239 13% 39% Poor
94
57
88
Tim Yakteen 237 12% 38% Poor
89
64
84
Jerry Hollendorfer 236 14% 41% Poor
96
54
86
Steven Miyadi 225 13% 45% Avg
102
47
76
Ryan Hanson 213 8% 33% Bad
71
48
94
Patrick Gallagher 209 9% 31% Bad
64
48
97
Steve R Knapp 206 10% 37% Bad
76
56
74
Val Brinkerhoff 203 6% 30% Bad
60
58
85
Simon Callaghan 200 20% 46% Good
93
50
57
Craig Anthony Lewis 197 11% 34% Bad
66
55
76
John A Shirreffs 196 17% 44% Avg
87
43
66
Steve Knapp 184 9% 28% Bad
52
51
81
J Keith Desormeaux 178 9% 31% Bad
55
51
72
Neil D Drysdale 173 8% 25% Bad
43
34
96
Jonathan Wong 171 16% 46% Poor
78
25
68
Jeff Bonde 166 11% 37% Bad
61
42
63
Hector O Palma 160 9% 29% Bad
47
48
65
Andy Mathis 158 16% 37% Bad
59
33
66
Luis Mendez 144 17% 31% Bad
44
30
70
J Eric Kruljac 140 13% 40% Bad
56
22
62
Dan Blacker 139 9% 36% Bad
50
31
58
William Spawr 137 12% 35% Bad
48
34
55
Kristin Mulhall 136 10% 43% Poor
59
34
43
Ronald W Ellis 127 14% 39% Poor
49
29
49
James M Cassidy 124 8% 31% Bad
38
31
55
Bill McLean 120 5% 24% Bad
29
29
62
Vann Belvoir 118 6% 22% Bad
26
23
69
Jorge Periban 110 7% 28% Bad
31
25
54
Craig Dollase 108 6% 32% Bad
35
23
50
Paula S Capestro 108 7% 19% Bad
21
20
67
Tim McCanna 104 7% 22% Bad
23
28
53
Ed Moger 102 2% 13% Bad
13
33
56
Andrew Lerner 102 11% 36% Bad
37
18
47

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.