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 127 21% 48% Good
61
28
38
Philip D'Amato 115 14% 43% Poor
49
28
38
George Papaprodromou 96 15% 50% Good
48
22
26
Michael W McCarthy 95 12% 37% Poor
35
26
34
Peter Miller 89 17% 51% Good
45
21
23
John W Sadler 82 17% 50% Avg
41
16
25
Mark Glatt 80 15% 41% Avg
33
25
22
Steve R Knapp 73 4% 25% Bad
18
19
36
Ryan Hanson 58 3% 22% Bad
13
15
30
Leonard Powell 56 2% 20% Bad
11
22
23
Bob Baffert 55 31% 56% Great
31
12
12
Jeff Mullins 52 19% 44% Avg
23
10
19
Val Brinkerhoff 51 8% 27% Bad
14
17
20
Richard E Mandella 48 10% 38% Poor
18
13
17
Mike Puype 48 8% 40% Bad
19
11
18
Richard Baltas 46 4% 35% Bad
16
12
18
Robert B Hess Jr 45 13% 29% Bad
13
9
23
Antonio C Garcia 45 16% 38% Bad
17
8
20
Edwin G Alvarez 41 5% 22% Bad
9
7
25
Neil D Drysdale 39 8% 26% Bad
10
7
22
Peter Eurton 38 13% 45% Poor
17
6
15
Andy Mathis 38 13% 39% Bad
15
7
16
Craig Anthony Lewis 35 20% 34% Poor
12
10
13
Carla Gaines 34 18% 44% Avg
15
7
12
Tim Yakteen 33 21% 61% Great
20
3
10
Brian J Koriner 31 23% 58% Great
18
7
6
Steven Miyadi 30 10% 30% Bad
9
7
14
Genaro Vallejo 28 4% 18% Bad
5
4
19
Hector O Palma 27 19% 33% Bad
9
5
13
Bill McLean 26 8% 46% Avg
12
7
7
Simon Callaghan 23 13% 43% Good
10
9
4
Isidro Tamayo 23 0% 9% Bad
2
5
16
Luis Mendez 23 9% 26% Bad
6
4
13
Dan Blacker 22 14% 45% Avg
10
6
6
Jeff Bonde 22 14% 27% Bad
6
5
11
Sean McCarthy 21 14% 33% Avg
7
9
5
Ruben Gomez 21 0% 5% Bad
1
5
15
Vladimir Cerin 20 10% 40% Bad
8
4
8
Tim McCanna 20 0% 30% Bad
6
6
8
Vann Belvoir 20 10% 10% Bad
2
4
14
Craig Dollase 19 5% 42% Bad
8
4
7
Jose F D'Angelo 19 5% 32% Bad
6
6
7
Felix Rondan 18 6% 33% Bad
6
4
8
Jesus J Uranga 18 17% 39% Bad
7
3
8
D Wayne Baker 18 6% 17% Bad
3
6
9
Patrick Gallagher 17 12% 18% Bad
3
4
10
Paula S Capestro 16 6% 25% Bad
4
2
10
Ian Kruljac 16 6% 19% Bad
3
3
10
Brendan W Galvin 16 6% 12% Bad
2
5
9
Ronald W Ellis 16 6% 31% Bad
5
4
7

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.