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 +
Mark E Casse 152 14% 37% Bad
56
38
58
Saffie A Joseph Jr 147 21% 52% Great
76
38
33
Jose F D'Angelo 108 17% 37% Poor
40
28
40
Antonio Sano 102 12% 37% Poor
38
34
30
Victor Barboza Jr 94 21% 53% Great
50
20
24
Carlos A David 88 18% 47% Good
41
22
25
Heather Smullen 73 7% 48% Avg
35
19
19
Joseph F Orseno 73 19% 49% Great
36
22
15
J Kent Sweezey 70 11% 43% Avg
30
22
18
Ronald Coy 60 10% 37% Bad
22
16
22
Todd A Pletcher 59 17% 32% Bad
19
16
24
William I Mott 56 18% 39% Poor
22
14
20
Daniel C Hurtak 50 12% 36% Poor
18
18
14
David Fawkes 48 23% 44% Good
21
13
14
Rohan G Crichton 48 29% 44% Good
21
12
15
Laura Cazares 45 7% 42% Poor
19
12
14
Martin Drexler 45 13% 51% Avg
23
9
13
Steve Klesaris 42 7% 48% Good
20
14
8
Joseph C Catanese III 40 2% 40% Bad
16
10
14
Brendan P Walsh 39 23% 46% Avg
18
7
14
Monica McGoey 39 10% 26% Bad
10
16
13
Bobby S Dibona 39 18% 56% Great
22
10
7
Tareq Moubarak 38 3% 37% Bad
14
12
12
Beau J Chapman 37 19% 51% Good
19
8
10
Kelly J Breen 36 11% 44% Avg
16
12
8
Fernando Abreu 36 17% 44% Avg
16
10
10
Ronald B Spatz 35 11% 51% Good
18
10
7
Jorge Delgado 35 23% 57% Great
20
7
8
Michael Lerman 34 6% 38% Bad
13
8
13
Brian A Lynch 34 18% 47% Great
16
12
6
Kathleen O'Connell 33 18% 52% Great
17
10
6
Ruben Sierra 33 9% 33% Bad
11
6
16
Patrick L Biancone 33 15% 58% Great
19
6
8
Ian R Wilkes 30 13% 43% Avg
13
8
9
Nicholas J Tomlinson 30 20% 67% Great
20
6
4
Michael J Maker 30 13% 23% Bad
7
12
11
Elizabeth L Dobles 29 7% 31% Bad
9
9
11
Douglas J Seyler 29 14% 31% Bad
9
7
13
Brad H Cox 29 31% 66% Great
19
3
7
Nolan Ramsey 28 18% 43% Avg
12
8
8
Jose M Castro 27 11% 22% Bad
6
10
11
Angel M Rodriguez 27 4% 37% Poor
10
10
7
Riley Mott 26 12% 27% Bad
7
8
11
Jena M Antonucci 26 12% 58% Good
15
4
7
Guadalupe Preciado 25 12% 20% Bad
5
8
12
George Weaver 25 16% 60% Great
15
5
5
Fausto Gutierrez 24 8% 25% Bad
6
4
14
Herbert Miller 24 8% 54% Avg
13
3
8
Collin Maragh 22 14% 36% Bad
8
5
9
Michael Yates 22 23% 50% Good
11
4
7

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.