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 1226 12% 39% Poor
480
301
445
Peter Miller 1076 19% 47% Avg
505
253
318
Philip D'Amato 1031 17% 46% Avg
470
255
306
John W Sadler 694 16% 45% Avg
315
168
211
Mark Glatt 651 16% 51% Good
332
124
195
Richard Baltas 604 16% 40% Poor
239
152
213
Bob Baffert 552 29% 61% Great
338
115
99
George Papaprodromou 534 12% 36% Bad
192
122
220
Robert B Hess 533 14% 40% Poor
211
157
165
Michael W McCarthy 471 14% 36% Bad
171
103
197
Jeff Mullins 437 14% 40% Poor
174
96
167
Peter Eurton 407 18% 41% Poor
165
99
143
Richard E Mandella 375 14% 43% Avg
161
97
117
Brian J Koriner 321 13% 40% Poor
128
78
115
Carla Gaines 316 13% 40% Poor
127
72
117
Mike Puype 309 10% 31% Bad
95
77
137
Leonard Powell 294 12% 39% Poor
114
76
104
Tim Yakteen 281 12% 39% Poor
109
73
99
Steve R Knapp 278 10% 36% Bad
99
73
106
Steven Miyadi 263 14% 46% Avg
122
54
87
Ryan Hanson 259 7% 32% Bad
82
59
118
Vladimir Cerin 257 16% 42% Avg
109
67
81
Jerry Hollendorfer 245 14% 40% Poor
98
54
93
Val Brinkerhoff 227 7% 29% Bad
66
63
98
Patrick Gallagher 224 8% 29% Bad
66
52
106
Craig Anthony Lewis 219 11% 33% Bad
73
61
85
Simon Callaghan 219 19% 45% Avg
98
58
63
John A Shirreffs 211 17% 45% Avg
96
46
69
Neil D Drysdale 201 7% 26% Bad
53
38
110
Jeff Bonde 186 11% 35% Bad
65
49
72
Steve Knapp 184 9% 28% Bad
52
51
81
Hector O Palma 180 9% 31% Bad
55
52
73
Andy Mathis 180 16% 39% Poor
70
37
73
J Keith Desormeaux 178 9% 31% Bad
55
51
72
Jonathan Wong 171 16% 46% Poor
78
25
68
Luis Mendez 169 16% 30% Bad
50
32
87
Dan Blacker 154 10% 39% Bad
60
32
62
Bill McLean 140 4% 23% Bad
32
35
73
Ronald W Ellis 140 14% 38% Bad
53
31
56
J Eric Kruljac 140 13% 40% Bad
56
22
62
Vann Belvoir 140 6% 21% Bad
29
29
82
Paula S Capestro 138 7% 19% Bad
26
28
84
William Spawr 137 12% 35% Bad
48
34
55
Kristin Mulhall 136 10% 43% Poor
59
34
43
Tim McCanna 134 5% 19% Bad
26
32
76
Craig Dollase 129 8% 32% Bad
41
29
59
James M Cassidy 127 8% 30% Bad
38
32
57
Jorge Periban 125 6% 28% Bad
35
29
61
Librado Barocio 119 13% 32% Bad
38
30
51
Ed Moger 102 2% 13% Bad
13
33
56

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.