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 +
Gonzalez Claudio A 277 20% 56% Great
155
55
67
Trombetta Michael J 272 12% 40% Poor
110
78
84
Ness Jamie 218 23% 54% Great
117
57
44
Corrales Jose 204 10% 36% Poor
74
60
70
Russell Brittany T 203 25% 59% Great
120
43
40
Sanchez-Salomon Rodolfo 202 12% 37% Poor
74
64
64
Magee Kieron 185 22% 56% Great
104
37
44
McMahon Hugh I 168 20% 55% Great
92
42
34
Capuano Dale 167 16% 53% Great
88
44
35
Allen A Ferris 160 12% 36% Poor
57
54
49
Robb John J 158 19% 47% Good
74
45
39
Dilodovico Damon R 154 13% 40% Poor
62
40
52
Smith Hamilton A 152 10% 36% Poor
55
48
49
Serey Jr Mario 150 19% 51% Great
77
40
33
Motion H Graham 144 18% 53% Great
76
38
30
Keefe Timothy L 139 12% 40% Poor
55
34
50
Farrior Anthony 132 14% 52% Good
69
31
32
Frock Charles L 109 11% 42% Avg
46
31
32
Cooney Susan S 103 4% 21% Bad
22
33
48
Eppler Mary E 89 17% 52% Good
46
19
24
Merryman Ann W 88 9% 30% Bad
26
28
34
Mancilla Carlos A 88 12% 45% Avg
40
23
25
Maldonado Jonathan 85 11% 28% Bad
24
26
35
Lynch Cathal A 84 18% 40% Avg
34
23
27
Bailes W Robert 79 15% 44% Avg
35
23
21
Gorham Michael E 79 9% 44% Avg
35
23
21
Rubley Kelly 79 9% 38% Poor
30
22
27
Sillaman Richard P 77 25% 57% Great
44
13
20
Capuano Gary 74 15% 43% Avg
32
22
20
Albert Linda L 69 7% 45% Avg
31
20
18
Eubanks Annette M 66 6% 30% Bad
20
18
28
Milosevic Milan 62 10% 40% Poor
25
16
21
Pickett Crystal G 62 6% 21% Bad
13
18
31
Delacour Arnaud 60 27% 50% Great
30
17
13
Salzman Timothy E 59 14% 39% Poor
23
18
18
Asmussen Steven M 59 25% 64% Great
38
16
5
Elamri Hassan 58 10% 24% Bad
14
19
25
O'Dwyer Jeremiah 57 21% 42% Avg
24
15
18
Gaudet Lacey 56 12% 32% Poor
18
20
18
Salzman Jr John E 55 22% 42% Avg
23
12
20
Barr Donald H 51 10% 29% Bad
15
14
22
DeMario Charles A 50 10% 32% Bad
16
13
21
Matz Michael R 48 15% 42% Avg
20
13
15
Maker Michael J 47 28% 47% Great
22
14
11
Walters Henry R 47 6% 36% Bad
17
14
16
McGaughey Claude R 46 24% 63% Great
29
6
11
Salzman John E 46 15% 48% Good
22
12
12
Klesaris Robert P 46 15% 48% Avg
22
10
14
Lawrence James L 45 9% 20% Bad
9
13
23
Schoenthal Phil 45 4% 47% Bad
21
6
18

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.