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 +
Saffie A Joseph Jr 171 17% 47% Avg
80
39
52
Mark E Casse 123 16% 40% Poor
49
30
44
Jose F D'Angelo 121 7% 35% Bad
42
34
45
Todd A Pletcher 102 10% 32% Bad
33
29
40
Antonio Sano 84 14% 43% Avg
36
26
22
Victor Barboza Jr 76 16% 42% Avg
32
23
21
Carlos A David 75 27% 51% Great
38
16
21
William I Mott 72 22% 54% Good
39
12
21
Brian A Lynch 64 27% 52% Great
33
18
13
J Kent Sweezey 63 14% 38% Poor
24
15
24
Brendan P Walsh 58 22% 43% Avg
25
12
21
Joseph F Orseno 54 11% 37% Poor
20
15
19
Michael J Maker 53 11% 32% Bad
17
13
23
David Fawkes 52 23% 38% Good
20
20
12
Heather Smullen 47 9% 38% Bad
18
11
18
Brad H Cox 46 30% 72% Great
33
5
8
Rohan G Crichton 45 24% 47% Good
21
11
13
Martin Drexler 44 11% 45% Avg
20
11
13
Daniel C Hurtak 43 5% 42% Poor
18
11
14
Jorge Delgado 41 22% 37% Poor
15
10
16
Bobby S Dibona 41 10% 37% Bad
15
9
17
Riley Mott 40 10% 35% Bad
14
8
18
Jose M Castro 39 13% 36% Bad
14
9
16
Tareq Moubarak 38 8% 37% Poor
14
13
11
Ronald B Spatz 38 13% 47% Good
18
12
8
Chad C Brown 38 24% 53% Great
20
11
7
Laura Cazares 37 0% 14% Bad
5
12
20
Fernando Abreu 35 14% 46% Poor
16
6
13
Michael J Trombetta 34 12% 35% Bad
12
6
16
C R McGaughey III 33 3% 48% Avg
16
10
7
Nolan Ramsey 33 12% 27% Bad
9
10
14
Kelly J Breen 32 16% 47% Avg
15
7
10
Ronald Coy 32 12% 53% Great
17
9
6
Ian R Wilkes 32 16% 41% Avg
13
9
10
Joseph C Catanese III 31 0% 19% Bad
6
14
11
Michael Lerman 31 10% 48% Good
15
10
6
H Graham Motion 30 27% 47% Avg
14
4
12
Guadalupe Preciado 29 3% 28% Bad
8
8
13
Kathleen O'Connell 29 0% 28% Bad
8
8
13
Patrick L Biancone 28 11% 50% Good
14
9
5
Steve Klesaris 28 7% 54% Good
15
7
6
William Walden 28 21% 36% Poor
10
8
10
Elizabeth L Dobles 28 18% 43% Good
12
9
7
Ruben Sierra 27 11% 30% Bad
8
6
13
George Weaver 26 15% 31% Poor
8
9
9
Michael Yates 26 8% 27% Bad
7
6
13
Danny Gargan 25 20% 40% Avg
10
7
8
Herbert Miller 24 4% 33% Bad
8
7
9
Nicholas P Zito 22 5% 36% Bad
8
6
8
Angel M Rodriguez 22 9% 32% Avg
7
11
4

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.