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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 +
Jamie Ness 1415 27% 63% Great
896
329
190
Michael E Gorham 703 16% 48% Good
335
178
190
Scott A Lake 523 16% 50% Good
261
159
103
Gerald S Bennett 495 14% 47% Good
234
138
123
Kelly Lynn Deiter 448 5% 23% Bad
101
156
191
Baltazar Galvan 437 11% 40% Poor
173
138
126
Lynn A Ashby 423 17% 47% Good
198
128
97
Gary Capuano 405 25% 57% Great
232
110
63
Anthony Pecoraro 388 27% 58% Great
226
93
69
Andrew L Simoff 364 20% 53% Great
193
91
80
Michael Stidham 327 19% 53% Great
173
87
67
Victor Carrasco 315 15% 49% Good
153
78
84
Jose A Ramirez 315 14% 44% Avg
138
96
81
Cathal A Lynch 304 26% 57% Great
174
58
72
Greg Compton 293 20% 55% Great
160
77
56
Pedro Nazario 287 11% 38% Poor
108
93
86
Samuel F Cronk 277 10% 36% Poor
101
95
81
Chelsey E Moysey 274 15% 46% Avg
127
70
77
H Graham Motion 271 19% 55% Good
149
49
73
McLean Robertson 271 19% 52% Great
140
86
45
James L Lawrence 265 14% 39% Poor
103
76
86
Juan Miguel Arriagada 231 17% 61% Great
140
59
32
John Rigattieri 229 22% 52% Great
119
75
35
Gary C Contessa 226 15% 48% Good
108
60
58
John J Robb 217 19% 52% Great
113
60
44
Hugh I McMahon 213 19% 54% Great
116
58
39
Kieron Magee 213 23% 63% Great
134
41
38
Edward T Allard 212 18% 54% Great
114
52
46
Claudio A Gonzalez 208 25% 57% Great
119
52
37
Brittany T Russell 204 29% 67% Great
137
43
24
Cesar Nambo 202 8% 40% Poor
80
62
60
Pedro Posadas 195 8% 30% Bad
58
57
80
Jose S Rodriguez 190 13% 42% Avg
80
55
55
Thomas Iannotti 188 11% 38% Avg
72
68
48
Arnaud Delacour 176 23% 56% Great
99
44
33
Richard J Hendriks 173 14% 42% Avg
73
47
53
Ramon Davila Aguayo 171 9% 40% Poor
69
46
56
Wallace C Neilson 169 9% 36% Poor
60
52
57
Michael V Simone 167 17% 47% Good
78
50
39
Kelly Rubley 164 13% 44% Avg
72
42
50
Roque R Romero 164 3% 23% Bad
38
49
77
Mark Shuman 161 12% 48% Avg
77
38
46
Jose M Camejo 159 20% 52% Good
83
34
42
Jerenesto Torrez 153 29% 73% Great
112
30
11
Steve Klesaris 151 20% 46% Good
69
43
39
Bruce M Kravets 148 13% 44% Avg
65
46
37
Fenneka T Bentley 146 12% 41% Avg
60
45
41
Jane Cibelli 146 18% 53% Good
77
26
43
Dale Capuano 143 21% 62% Great
89
31
23
Michael R Matz 141 15% 43% Avg
61
39
41

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.