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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 +
Joseph M Foster 1191 20% 51% Good
605
303
283
Shane Wilson 768 23% 55% Great
421
169
178
Karl Broberg 754 25% 58% Great
436
164
154
Joe O Duhon 703 18% 51% Good
356
185
162
Jose Carrizales 604 15% 42% Avg
254
177
173
Ronnie P Ward 603 12% 42% Avg
253
192
158
Steven M Asmussen 578 23% 56% Great
321
122
135
Jorge Lara 555 12% 37% Poor
208
159
188
Patti Turner 469 15% 44% Avg
206
131
132
Eric D Nelson 431 10% 34% Poor
145
145
141
Donald Melancon 402 6% 28% Bad
114
116
172
Vann E Haywood 388 16% 49% Good
190
104
94
Phillip Mark Dison 358 9% 31% Bad
110
121
127
Janessa Lee Muniz 355 10% 34% Bad
121
113
121
Henry B Johnson 344 15% 49% Good
169
88
87
Tim Dixon 329 10% 38% Poor
125
91
113
Al Cates 328 19% 51% Great
168
87
73
Beverly Burress 325 13% 42% Avg
136
97
92
Kenneth Weeks 299 8% 33% Bad
100
93
106
Patrick Mouton 284 15% 54% Great
152
72
60
Justin Jeansonne 284 19% 51% Great
144
80
60
James E Hodges 273 14% 45% Avg
124
78
71
Martin Trejo 272 14% 46% Avg
125
59
88
Alfonso Balderas 272 13% 42% Avg
114
79
79
Denise Schmidt 269 15% 43% Avg
115
80
74
Lee Thomas 264 16% 40% Poor
105
73
86
Nathan D Hatcher 262 6% 26% Bad
69
81
112
Orlando Orozco 259 12% 35% Poor
91
82
86
Jorge Gomez 258 4% 20% Bad
52
94
112
Danny Pish 250 19% 54% Great
135
63
52
Lanny Keith 245 19% 54% Great
133
56
56
Anthony Arey 243 14% 50% Good
121
70
52
Cesar Govea 242 10% 35% Bad
85
74
83
Henry Ray Dunn 233 9% 37% Poor
86
69
78
Judy Beavin 232 7% 31% Bad
72
86
74
Willie J Simien Jr 228 18% 47% Good
108
62
58
Kenneth L Hargrave 228 15% 43% Avg
99
59
70
Rafael Gomez 218 6% 38% Bad
83
58
77
Sarah Delany 216 19% 47% Good
101
54
61
Kenneth L Roberts 211 21% 55% Good
115
39
57
Guillermo Martinez 209 13% 40% Poor
83
47
79
Guadalupe Garza 205 11% 41% Poor
85
56
64
Benjamin R Wilbanks 201 14% 45% Good
90
67
44
Raul Rangel 198 9% 32% Bad
64
51
83
Sherman Savoie 196 10% 35% Bad
68
61
67
Thomas W Nixon 190 8% 32% Bad
61
63
66
Kathleen M Mordenti 189 14% 36% Bad
68
50
71
Ruben Chavez 179 11% 30% Bad
54
53
72
Jose D Barron 174 16% 51% Good
89
39
46
Manuel H Macias 172 20% 51% Good
88
41
43

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.