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 +
Heads Barbara 734 23% 58% Great
428
200
106
Henson Steve 648 19% 52% Great
340
203
105
Maybin Robert 635 14% 45% Good
285
206
144
Cloutier Mark 594 19% 51% Great
305
179
110
Condilenios Dino K 526 15% 49% Good
258
140
128
Snow Mel 519 13% 49% Good
253
167
99
Snow John 412 9% 42% Avg
175
131
106
MacPherson Craig 401 20% 56% Great
224
98
79
Hall Philip 341 26% 56% Great
190
84
67
Jarvis Pat 335 13% 42% Avg
141
113
81
Mendoza Edgar 327 21% 55% Great
180
97
50
Pedersen Keith 323 17% 53% Great
172
91
60
Barroby Frank E 309 6% 28% Bad
87
118
104
Barroby Harold J 259 3% 21% Bad
55
96
108
Leaney Patty 252 17% 41% Avg
103
80
69
Milburn Dave 236 14% 48% Good
114
72
50
Ammann Christine 215 17% 50% Good
107
48
60
Palma Milton 212 12% 38% Poor
80
68
64
Krasner Cindy 208 17% 51% Great
106
67
35
Gilker Robert 205 19% 55% Great
113
48
44
Todd Glen 204 24% 55% Great
112
56
36
Miller Charlene 186 7% 42% Poor
78
54
54
Anderson Robert J 171 10% 38% Poor
65
53
53
VanOverschot Robert 165 22% 54% Great
89
53
23
Forster David 145 17% 46% Good
67
39
39
Grieve Larry 143 15% 59% Great
85
37
21
Gutierrez Erick 126 15% 44% Good
55
42
29
O'Connell Brian J 115 17% 51% Great
59
41
15
Wicks Julie 101 8% 25% Bad
25
32
44
Unwin Bruce 98 11% 44% Avg
43
29
26
Anderson Mike 92 21% 52% Great
48
22
22
Neigel Tara 89 18% 65% Great
58
19
12
Henson Robert 89 17% 49% Good
44
23
22
Lausten Carl 88 16% 47% Good
41
29
18
Strachan James 79 11% 37% Poor
29
25
25
Brown James R 76 13% 39% Poor
30
22
24
Clyde Terry D 69 20% 48% Great
33
26
10
Betts Nancy 67 22% 39% Avg
26
21
20
Gregory Sylvea 67 7% 33% Poor
22
30
15
Milburn Peter 66 11% 35% Poor
23
27
16
Phillips Brian 65 6% 28% Bad
18
27
20
Raven Kerri 63 14% 46% Avg
29
18
16
Bell Deirdre 61 13% 51% Good
31
16
14
Byrne Stephen 61 3% 20% Bad
12
18
31
Topouzis Demetris 54 30% 61% Great
33
12
9
Bremner Brent 54 17% 56% Great
30
12
12
Lavallee Jean M 53 11% 34% Bad
18
16
19
Morrison John D 52 37% 67% Great
35
11
6
Bolton Anita 49 24% 45% Avg
22
10
17
Rycroft Nicole 41 20% 56% Great
23
14
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.