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 154 12% 38% Poor
59
39
56
Saffie A Joseph Jr 151 21% 52% Great
78
39
34
Jose F D'Angelo 113 14% 36% Poor
41
30
42
Antonio Sano 98 11% 38% Poor
37
33
28
Victor Barboza Jr 96 23% 54% Great
52
21
23
Carlos A David 90 18% 46% Avg
41
22
27
J Kent Sweezey 78 14% 44% Avg
34
21
23
Joseph F Orseno 74 19% 47% Good
35
23
16
Todd A Pletcher 67 16% 36% Poor
24
17
26
Heather Smullen 65 5% 49% Avg
32
18
15
William I Mott 61 16% 43% Avg
26
15
20
Ronald Coy 56 9% 38% Poor
21
18
17
David Fawkes 52 23% 40% Good
21
17
14
Daniel C Hurtak 51 12% 35% Poor
18
19
14
Martin Drexler 50 12% 48% Avg
24
12
14
Laura Cazares 50 6% 40% Bad
20
12
18
Rohan G Crichton 49 33% 49% Great
24
11
14
Brendan P Walsh 42 24% 45% Avg
19
8
15
Steve Klesaris 42 7% 45% Avg
19
14
9
Brian A Lynch 41 15% 41% Avg
17
14
10
Tareq Moubarak 41 2% 37% Poor
15
14
12
Kelly J Breen 40 12% 45% Good
18
13
9
Jorge Delgado 40 22% 55% Great
22
8
10
Fernando Abreu 38 18% 45% Good
17
11
10
Bobby S Dibona 38 18% 50% Good
19
9
10
Beau J Chapman 37 19% 54% Good
20
6
11
Joseph C Catanese III 36 3% 36% Bad
13
11
12
Michael Lerman 34 9% 41% Poor
14
8
12
Ronald B Spatz 34 12% 53% Great
18
10
6
Patrick L Biancone 34 15% 56% Good
19
7
8
Brad H Cox 33 33% 70% Great
23
3
7
Elizabeth L Dobles 33 12% 36% Poor
12
9
12
Monica McGoey 33 9% 24% Bad
8
14
11
Riley Mott 31 13% 26% Bad
8
9
14
Nicholas J Tomlinson 31 16% 61% Great
19
6
6
Ian R Wilkes 31 13% 42% Poor
13
8
10
Michael J Maker 31 13% 23% Bad
7
13
11
Nolan Ramsey 30 17% 40% Avg
12
9
9
Ruben Sierra 30 7% 23% Bad
7
6
17
Angel M Rodriguez 28 7% 43% Avg
12
9
7
Douglas J Seyler 28 11% 29% Bad
8
8
12
Guadalupe Preciado 28 11% 21% Bad
6
8
14
Kathleen O'Connell 27 15% 52% Great
14
9
4
Jose M Castro 27 7% 19% Bad
5
12
10
Michael Yates 26 19% 50% Good
13
5
8
Jena M Antonucci 26 12% 54% Good
14
5
7
Fausto Gutierrez 25 8% 28% Bad
7
3
15
George Weaver 25 20% 64% Great
16
5
4
Dante Zanelli 23 9% 39% Bad
9
5
9
Kevin Attard 23 26% 39% Good
9
8
6

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.