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 +
Steven M Asmussen 233 17% 38% Poor
89
56
88
Ron Moquett 119 8% 35% Bad
42
32
45
John Haran 80 4% 31% Bad
25
14
41
Chris A Hartman 77 17% 45% Avg
35
21
21
Kenneth G McPeek 67 12% 42% Avg
28
21
18
Randy L Morse 66 20% 50% Good
33
13
20
John Alexander Ortiz 60 8% 28% Bad
17
18
25
Greg Compton 60 12% 22% Bad
13
14
33
Mark E Casse 59 29% 68% Great
40
9
10
Timothy E Martin 58 7% 17% Bad
10
7
41
Cipriano Contreras 57 21% 53% Good
30
9
18
Thomas M Amoss 52 10% 35% Poor
18
19
15
Kim A Puhl 49 8% 27% Bad
13
13
23
Peter Miller 44 25% 68% Great
30
9
5
Lindsay Schultz 43 7% 33% Bad
14
11
18
Norm W Casse 42 17% 48% Avg
20
10
12
Robert N Cline 41 2% 15% Bad
6
7
28
Wayne Potts 40 8% 38% Bad
15
10
15
F Dewaine Loy 40 10% 30% Bad
12
4
24
Dan Ward 40 12% 32% Bad
13
7
20
H Ray Ashford Jr 40 22% 38% Avg
15
12
13
Ernie Witt II 39 3% 33% Bad
13
8
18
Genaro Garcia 38 5% 39% Bad
15
6
17
Michael J Maker 38 18% 55% Great
21
8
9
David Jacobson 37 3% 27% Bad
10
9
18
John Henry Prather Jr 37 3% 19% Bad
7
5
25
Allen Milligan 36 3% 28% Bad
10
3
23
Dallas Stewart 35 26% 51% Good
18
5
12
Brad H Cox 35 14% 49% Good
17
11
7
William N Martin 34 9% 24% Bad
8
8
18
A Ramirez-Rodriguez 33 36% 48% Great
16
10
7
Thomas D Vance 33 15% 39% Poor
13
7
13
Shea Stuart 33 9% 30% Bad
10
10
13
Armando Hernandez 32 3% 38% Bad
12
8
12
McLean Robertson 31 13% 35% Bad
11
8
12
Aaron Shorter 31 3% 19% Bad
6
13
12
Mertkan Kantarmaci 28 0% 29% Bad
8
8
12
Matt A Shirer 28 14% 32% Bad
9
5
14
Robert Medina 27 11% 26% Bad
7
7
13
David Fawkes 27 11% 52% Good
14
6
7
Lynn Chleborad 26 8% 15% Bad
4
3
19
Bruce L Riecken 25 4% 28% Bad
7
5
13
Tim Dixon 25 0% 20% Bad
5
10
10
Al Cates 25 12% 16% Bad
4
9
12
Danny Pish 25 12% 48% Avg
12
6
7
Michael Hewitt 25 4% 16% Bad
4
4
17
Burl D McBride 24 4% 17% Bad
4
4
16
Edgar Espinoza 24 8% 25% Bad
6
3
15
Matt Williams 23 9% 57% Avg
13
2
8
Tammy Hornsby 23 0% 4% Bad
1
7
15

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.