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 +
Frank Lucarelli 1236 20% 52% Great
638
343
255
Vince Gibson 782 16% 42% Avg
325
233
224
Blaine D Wright 759 24% 58% Great
442
173
144
Howard Belvoir 710 12% 39% Avg
279
231
200
Joe Toye 689 18% 50% Good
343
189
157
Jorge Rosales 662 22% 54% Great
356
163
143
Jeffrey Metz 628 17% 50% Good
313
177
138
Candice S Cryderman 576 16% 49% Good
284
161
131
Charles Essex 515 13% 44% Avg
228
148
139
Alan Bozell 508 13% 39% Poor
198
136
174
Tom Wenzel 499 21% 51% Great
256
141
102
Robert Baze 473 8% 33% Bad
155
139
179
David B Martinez 444 11% 38% Poor
170
148
126
Kay Penney Cooper 438 17% 46% Good
203
117
118
Jose Navarro 433 9% 39% Poor
168
137
128
Steve Bullock 421 13% 50% Good
210
116
95
Rigoberto Velasquez 415 18% 49% Good
205
122
88
Chris Stenslie 300 17% 50% Good
149
81
70
Bonnie Jenne 253 13% 46% Good
116
78
59
Tim McCanna 238 23% 54% Great
128
66
44
Rosie Simkins 232 10% 42% Poor
97
57
78
Robert A Bean 225 8% 38% Poor
86
79
60
Justin R Evans 212 30% 64% Great
135
51
26
Jose Raudales 208 9% 25% Bad
52
70
86
Jesus Pablo Alejandro De 197 16% 42% Avg
83
59
55
Dan L Markle 196 16% 53% Great
103
63
30
Doris Harwood 185 11% 39% Poor
72
56
57
Roddina A Barrett 183 14% 39% Poor
71
55
57
Manuel Ortiz 173 24% 54% Great
94
40
39
Robert A Meeking 161 14% 48% Good
77
50
34
Roy Lumm 159 10% 38% Avg
60
59
40
Debbie Peery 159 14% 33% Bad
52
49
58
Valentin L [Picho] Garcia 158 9% 37% Bad
59
40
59
Sharon Ross 153 13% 49% Good
75
46
32
Shelly Crowe 150 15% 50% Good
75
45
30
Tena Birdwell 149 14% 48% Avg
72
31
46
Jack McCartney 139 12% 40% Poor
55
38
46
Michael Puhich 132 17% 48% Good
64
32
36
Satchell Stevens 131 8% 44% Avg
58
41
32
Bill Tollett 131 7% 41% Avg
54
47
30
Nick Lowe 129 16% 47% Good
60
36
33
Scott Freeman 125 9% 30% Bad
38
38
49
Kenneth Elison 116 9% 42% Avg
49
37
30
Cliff Balcom 113 7% 28% Bad
32
39
42
Horne Debbie Van 113 12% 32% Bad
36
34
43
Jennifer Nunnally 110 10% 34% Avg
37
48
25
Edwin C Cornier 108 12% 36% Poor
39
40
29
Candi Tollett 108 19% 48% Good
52
32
24
Neil Knapp 107 12% 36% Poor
39
31
37
Sam Dronen 104 16% 46% Good
48
35
21

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.