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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 1257 19% 51% Good
640
324
293
Shane Wilson 848 22% 53% Great
452
196
200
Karl Broberg 754 25% 58% Great
436
164
154
Joe O Duhon 726 18% 51% Good
371
189
166
Jose Carrizales 604 15% 42% Avg
254
177
173
Ronnie P Ward 603 12% 42% Avg
253
192
158
Steven M Asmussen 592 23% 55% Great
328
125
139
Jorge Lara 578 12% 37% Poor
216
165
197
Patti Turner 483 15% 45% Avg
215
136
132
Eric D Nelson 467 11% 35% Poor
165
155
147
Donald Melancon 418 6% 29% Bad
120
123
175
Vann E Haywood 388 16% 49% Good
190
104
94
Tim Dixon 368 9% 36% Bad
131
105
132
Henry B Johnson 361 15% 49% Good
178
91
92
Phillip Mark Dison 358 9% 31% Bad
110
121
127
Janessa Lee Muniz 355 10% 34% Bad
121
113
121
Al Cates 342 19% 52% Great
177
90
75
Beverly Burress 325 13% 42% Avg
136
97
92
Cesar Govea 315 10% 35% Bad
110
92
113
Kenneth Weeks 299 8% 33% Bad
100
93
106
Justin Jeansonne 294 19% 51% Great
149
84
61
Denise Schmidt 286 15% 41% Avg
118
85
83
Alfonso Balderas 285 13% 42% Avg
121
82
82
Patrick Mouton 284 15% 54% Great
152
72
60
James E Hodges 273 14% 45% Avg
124
78
71
Martin Trejo 272 14% 46% Avg
125
59
88
Nathan D Hatcher 265 6% 26% Bad
70
81
114
Lee Thomas 264 16% 40% Poor
105
73
86
Jorge Gomez 260 4% 20% Bad
53
94
113
Orlando Orozco 259 12% 35% Poor
91
82
86
Danny Pish 253 19% 54% Great
136
64
53
Judy Beavin 250 7% 32% Bad
79
90
81
Lanny Keith 245 19% 54% Great
133
56
56
Anthony Arey 243 14% 50% Good
121
70
52
Henry Ray Dunn 243 9% 36% Poor
88
76
79
Kenneth L Hargrave 242 16% 45% Avg
109
61
72
Rafael Gomez 234 6% 36% Bad
84
64
86
Willie J Simien Jr 228 18% 47% Good
108
62
58
Raul Rangel 222 9% 32% Bad
71
56
95
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
Sherman Savoie 204 10% 36% Poor
73
63
68
Benjamin R Wilbanks 201 14% 45% Good
90
67
44
Jonas Gibson 193 25% 59% Great
113
44
36
Thomas W Nixon 192 9% 33% Bad
63
63
66
Kathleen M Mordenti 189 14% 36% Bad
68
50
71
Steven Duke 183 14% 40% Poor
74
46
63
Ruben Chavez 179 11% 30% Bad
54
53
72

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.