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 +
Asmussen Steven M 2054 17% 43% Avg
882
488
684
Diodoro Robertino 1214 22% 51% Good
618
230
366
Moquett Ron 917 12% 39% Poor
360
220
337
Martin Timothy E 722 5% 23% Bad
167
144
411
Broberg Karl 686 17% 46% Avg
318
136
232
Cox Brad H 647 23% 55% Great
359
136
152
Hartman Chris A 633 17% 47% Avg
298
148
187
Morse Randy L 541 11% 31% Bad
168
135
238
Cline Robert N 530 6% 24% Bad
126
138
266
Mason Ingrid 503 9% 32% Bad
161
129
213
Lukas D Wayne 501 11% 39% Bad
195
108
198
Villafranco Federico 491 13% 37% Bad
180
112
199
Ortiz John Alexander 478 17% 44% Avg
210
99
169
Robertson McLean 471 10% 33% Bad
155
131
185
Martin William N 462 10% 31% Bad
142
98
222
McKnight Norman 436 13% 38% Bad
166
86
184
Contreras Cipriano 427 18% 47% Avg
200
95
132
Milligan Allen 398 5% 21% Bad
84
88
226
Puhl Kim A 372 5% 22% Bad
82
81
209
Von Hemel Donnie K 336 6% 29% Bad
97
84
155
Garcia Genaro 331 10% 32% Bad
106
68
157
Chleborad Lynn 330 5% 19% Bad
63
83
184
Hollendorfer Jerry 318 12% 42% Poor
132
70
116
Fires William H 309 5% 20% Bad
62
70
177
Hornsby Tammy 305 8% 30% Bad
91
53
161
Barkley Jason 297 9% 28% Bad
84
76
137
Prather John H 291 10% 29% Bad
84
53
154
Smith Kenny P 290 5% 28% Bad
82
53
155
Haran John 290 6% 18% Bad
51
42
197
Dixon Tim 258 5% 17% Bad
43
58
157
Vance Thomas D 257 9% 31% Bad
79
59
119
McPeek Kenneth G 257 18% 47% Avg
120
59
78
Compton Greg 256 13% 41% Poor
104
50
102
Cates Al 245 9% 27% Bad
66
41
138
Loy F Dewaine 234 7% 23% Bad
53
54
127
Maker Michael J 232 15% 39% Poor
91
53
88
Hewitt Michael 228 7% 21% Bad
47
41
140
Witt II Ernie 227 13% 41% Poor
93
50
84
Van Berg Thomas L 226 12% 42% Poor
96
54
76
Swearingen Thomas H 223 10% 28% Bad
62
50
111
DiVito James P 222 14% 45% Avg
100
52
70
Amoss Thomas M 218 13% 36% Poor
79
60
79
Sharp Joe 212 12% 38% Bad
80
41
91
Holthus Paul E 206 10% 31% Bad
63
44
99
Anderson Doug L 206 8% 30% Bad
62
58
86
Shorter Aaron 193 12% 36% Bad
70
48
75
Stuart Shea 192 10% 33% Bad
64
39
89
Petalino Joseph 188 6% 22% Bad
41
43
104
Lauer Michael E 188 6% 26% Bad
48
41
99
Litfin Nevada 183 4% 16% Bad
30
40
113

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.