betonline banner
betonline banner

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 +
Foster Joseph M 1154 19% 50% Good
580
299
275
Broberg Karl 754 25% 58% Great
436
164
154
Wilson Shane 722 24% 55% Great
395
157
170
Duhon Joe O 682 17% 51% Good
345
177
160
Ward Ronnie P 600 12% 42% Avg
252
190
158
Carrizales Jose 571 15% 42% Avg
240
171
160
Asmussen Steven M 571 23% 56% Great
319
118
134
Lara Jorge 537 12% 38% Poor
202
154
181
Turner Patti 461 15% 44% Avg
203
129
129
Nelson Eric D 395 10% 33% Bad
130
131
134
Melancon Donald 391 6% 28% Bad
109
114
168
Dison Phillip Mark 358 9% 31% Bad
110
121
127
Haywood Vann E 355 16% 49% Good
173
96
86
Johnson Henry B 333 14% 49% Good
163
85
85
Burress Beverly 325 13% 42% Avg
136
97
92
Cates Al 320 18% 51% Good
163
84
73
Muniz Janessa Lee 316 10% 34% Bad
107
102
107
Dixon Tim 308 10% 39% Poor
119
80
109
Mouton Patrick 284 15% 54% Great
152
72
60
Jeansonne Justin 282 19% 50% Great
142
80
60
Hodges James E 273 14% 45% Avg
124
78
71
Weeks Kenneth 270 9% 34% Bad
91
87
92
Balderas Alfonso 265 12% 42% Avg
110
77
78
Thomas Lee 264 16% 40% Poor
105
73
86
Trejo Martin 260 15% 47% Avg
121
56
83
Hatcher Nathan D 257 7% 27% Bad
69
78
110
Schmidt Denise 256 15% 44% Avg
112
74
70
Gomez Jorge 254 4% 20% Bad
51
94
109
Pish Danny 250 19% 54% Great
135
63
52
Orozco Orlando 239 11% 34% Poor
82
77
80
Keith Lanny 234 20% 56% Great
130
52
52
Arey Anthony 233 15% 51% Good
118
65
50
Simien Jr Willie J 228 18% 47% Good
108
62
58
Dunn Henry Ray 225 9% 36% Bad
81
67
77
Hargrave Kenneth L 217 15% 42% Avg
91
56
70
Delany Sarah 216 19% 47% Good
101
54
61
Beavin Judy 215 7% 29% Bad
63
79
73
Roberts Kenneth L 211 21% 55% Good
115
39
57
Govea Cesar 211 9% 34% Bad
72
64
75
Gomez Rafael 208 7% 39% Bad
81
53
74
Garza Guadalupe 205 11% 41% Poor
85
56
64
Wilbanks Benjamin R 201 14% 45% Good
90
67
44
Savoie Sherman 194 10% 35% Bad
67
61
66
Rangel Raul 193 9% 31% Bad
60
50
83
Mordenti Kathleen M 189 14% 36% Bad
68
50
71
Nixon Thomas W 187 8% 32% Bad
60
61
66
Chavez Ruben 179 11% 30% Bad
54
53
72
Barron Jose D 173 16% 51% Good
89
38
46
Smith Joseph P 171 19% 52% Good
89
38
44
Faucheux Ron 168 19% 57% Great
95
42
31

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.