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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 +
Michael J Maker 546 14% 37% Bad
204
106
236
Brad H Cox 513 28% 57% Great
291
104
118
Kenneth G McPeek 483 11% 34% Bad
166
129
188
Steven M Asmussen 477 10% 33% Bad
158
118
201
Wesley A Ward 471 26% 54% Great
255
89
127
Ian R Wilkes 445 10% 34% Bad
151
109
185
Brendan P Walsh 406 16% 41% Poor
165
86
155
Chad C Brown 333 23% 54% Great
180
73
80
George R Arnold 297 14% 42% Poor
126
57
114
Eddie Kenneally 280 15% 40% Poor
112
69
99
Mark E Casse 278 11% 31% Bad
85
56
137
Todd A Pletcher 275 24% 54% Great
149
48
78
Joe Sharp 253 14% 36% Bad
92
48
113
Victoria H Oliver 246 10% 30% Bad
74
62
110
Ben Colebrook 235 11% 34% Bad
81
55
99
William I Mott 215 13% 38% Bad
82
49
84
H Graham Motion 213 14% 40% Poor
86
47
80
Dale L Romans 194 12% 37% Bad
72
37
85
Dallas Stewart 182 11% 37% Bad
67
47
68
Brian A Lynch 175 13% 37% Bad
64
33
78
Rodolphe Brisset 170 19% 46% Avg
78
41
51
Ignacio Correas 169 11% 33% Bad
56
34
79
Thomas M Amoss 167 8% 30% Bad
50
46
71
John Ennis 145 6% 25% Bad
36
30
79
Cherie DeVaux 144 10% 34% Bad
49
38
57
Claude R McGaughey 143 14% 38% Poor
55
33
55
Ron Moquett 135 8% 38% Bad
51
31
53
W Bret Calhoun 131 7% 33% Bad
43
34
54
Michael Stidham 128 8% 26% Bad
33
34
61
John Alexander Ortiz 127 13% 38% Bad
48
25
54
D Wayne Lukas 126 2% 21% Bad
26
29
71
Paulo H Lobo 124 10% 26% Bad
32
28
64
Wayne M Catalano 121 10% 30% Bad
36
33
52
McLean Robertson 119 8% 29% Bad
35
32
52
Gregory D Foley 115 3% 30% Bad
35
28
52
Chris A Hartman 113 17% 45% Avg
51
28
34
Philip A Sims 111 9% 32% Bad
36
29
46
Albert M Stall 106 12% 36% Poor
38
32
36
Andrew McKeever 105 5% 26% Bad
27
28
50
Robertino Diodoro 105 18% 48% Avg
50
22
33
Norm W Casse 105 22% 47% Good
49
27
29
Michael A Tomlinson 103 16% 35% Bad
36
25
42
Christopher Davis 101 9% 30% Bad
30
20
51
Eric N Foster 98 3% 26% Bad
25
19
54
Saffie A Joseph Jr 90 11% 43% Poor
39
18
33
Jack Sisterson 86 7% 36% Bad
31
12
43
John A Hancock 83 6% 24% Bad
20
19
44
Paul J McGee 83 13% 42% Avg
35
22
26
Brian Williamson 79 3% 33% Bad
26
18
35
Neil L Pessin 78 12% 31% Bad
24
19
35

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.