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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 +
Maker Michael J 512 15% 37% Bad
190
99
223
Cox Brad H 476 28% 56% Great
267
97
112
McPeek Kenneth G 465 11% 34% Bad
159
121
185
Asmussen Steven M 450 10% 34% Bad
151
108
191
Ward Wesley A 429 27% 54% Great
233
83
113
Wilkes Ian R 426 10% 34% Bad
144
104
178
Walsh Brendan P 370 15% 39% Poor
145
77
148
Brown Chad C 311 23% 53% Great
166
67
78
Arnold George R 270 14% 44% Poor
118
48
104
Kenneally Eddie 257 14% 40% Poor
102
65
90
Casse Mark E 251 11% 30% Bad
75
51
125
Pletcher Todd A 249 25% 55% Great
136
43
70
Sharp Joe 232 13% 35% Bad
82
46
104
Oliver Victoria H 230 10% 30% Bad
68
61
101
Colebrook Ben 223 11% 35% Bad
77
51
95
Motion H Graham 202 14% 41% Poor
83
44
75
Mott William I 188 14% 39% Poor
73
43
72
Romans Dale L 178 12% 37% Bad
65
35
78
Stewart Dallas 173 11% 35% Bad
60
45
68
Lynch Brian A 163 13% 35% Bad
57
33
73
Correas Ignacio 162 11% 34% Bad
55
31
76
Amoss Thomas M 162 9% 31% Bad
50
43
69
Brisset Rodolphe 156 19% 47% Avg
74
35
47
Moquett Ron 135 8% 38% Bad
51
31
53
McGaughey Claude R 130 15% 39% Poor
51
30
49
Calhoun W Bret 126 7% 34% Bad
43
33
50
Lukas D Wayne 126 2% 21% Bad
26
29
71
Ennis John 125 6% 26% Bad
32
25
68
Lobo Paulo H 122 11% 25% Bad
31
28
63
Stidham Michael 119 8% 27% Bad
32
31
56
Robertson McLean 119 8% 29% Bad
35
32
52
DeVaux Cherie 117 11% 33% Bad
39
33
45
Ortiz John Alexander 114 12% 36% Bad
41
22
51
Catalano Wayne M 113 10% 30% Bad
34
31
48
Hartman Chris A 109 17% 46% Avg
50
28
31
Sims Philip A 108 9% 33% Bad
36
28
44
Casse Norm W 105 22% 47% Good
49
27
29
Foley Gregory D 102 3% 30% Bad
31
27
44
Stall Albert M 101 13% 37% Poor
37
31
33
McKeever Andrew 100 5% 25% Bad
25
27
48
Diodoro Robertino 100 19% 48% Avg
48
20
32
Tomlinson Michael A 94 15% 34% Bad
32
21
41
Davis Christopher 93 9% 27% Bad
25
19
49
Foster Eric N 88 3% 25% Bad
22
16
50
Sisterson Jack 85 7% 36% Bad
31
12
42
Joseph Jr Saffie A 79 9% 43% Poor
34
15
30
McGee Paul J 78 12% 41% Poor
32
21
25
Pessin Neil L 76 12% 32% Bad
24
19
33
Williamson Brian 76 3% 33% Bad
25
17
34
Hancock John A 72 7% 26% Bad
19
14
39

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.