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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 +
Ness Jamie 1265 26% 63% Great
802
297
166
Gorham Michael E 618 16% 47% Good
292
155
171
Lake Scott A 521 16% 50% Good
260
158
103
Bennett Gerald S 495 14% 47% Good
234
138
123
Galvan Baltazar 437 11% 40% Poor
173
138
126
Ashby Lynn A 380 17% 46% Good
176
112
92
Capuano Gary 358 24% 57% Great
204
98
56
Deiter Kelly Lynn 355 5% 22% Bad
78
119
158
Pecoraro Anthony 349 29% 60% Great
211
78
60
Simoff Andrew L 329 21% 53% Great
175
81
73
Cronk Samuel F 277 10% 36% Poor
101
95
81
Moysey Chelsey E 274 15% 46% Avg
127
70
77
Stidham Michael 270 19% 54% Great
147
71
52
Ramirez Jose A 269 15% 46% Good
124
85
60
Carrasco Victor 268 13% 46% Avg
123
67
78
Lynch Cathal A 260 27% 60% Great
156
49
55
Compton Greg 234 20% 56% Great
132
60
42
Motion H Graham 232 18% 54% Good
126
44
62
Arriagada Juan Miguel 231 17% 61% Great
140
59
32
Rigattieri John 229 22% 52% Great
119
75
35
Nazario Pedro 214 12% 40% Avg
86
71
57
Robertson McLean 208 21% 52% Great
109
67
32
Lawrence James L 202 13% 41% Avg
83
59
60
Contessa Gary C 200 16% 48% Good
96
52
52
McMahon Hugh I 196 19% 55% Great
108
54
34
Gonzalez Claudio A 196 24% 58% Great
113
51
32
Robb John J 195 19% 52% Great
102
53
40
Allard Edward T 186 19% 54% Great
101
45
40
Posadas Pedro 178 8% 29% Bad
52
53
73
Delacour Arnaud 176 23% 56% Great
99
44
33
Russell Brittany T 171 30% 67% Great
114
36
21
Iannotti Thomas 167 12% 39% Avg
65
59
43
Magee Kieron 167 25% 65% Great
109
27
31
Nambo Cesar 164 8% 43% Avg
70
50
44
Romero Roque R 164 3% 23% Bad
38
49
77
Camejo Jose M 159 20% 52% Good
83
34
42
Rodriguez Jose S 155 14% 41% Avg
63
44
48
Torrez Jerenesto 153 29% 73% Great
112
30
11
Neilson Wallace C 151 9% 34% Bad
52
46
53
Aguayo Ramon Davila 150 9% 38% Poor
57
44
49
Hendriks Richard J 148 14% 43% Avg
63
40
45
Rubley Kelly 146 13% 43% Avg
63
38
45
Cibelli Jane 144 19% 53% Good
76
26
42
Capuano Dale 143 21% 62% Great
89
31
23
Sanchez-Salomon Rodolfo 139 19% 51% Great
71
38
30
Klesaris Steve 138 19% 44% Avg
61
39
38
Bentley Fenneka T 135 11% 41% Avg
56
42
37
Potts Wayne 135 14% 47% Good
63
49
23
Shuman Mark 134 12% 49% Avg
65
30
39
Arboritanza Joseph 132 7% 30% Bad
39
47
46

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.