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 +
Doug F O'Neill 2243 17% 46% Good
1038
595
610
Philip D'Amato 1983 19% 51% Good
1010
475
498
John W Sadler 1466 17% 49% Good
716
382
368
Mark Glatt 1445 19% 53% Great
765
335
345
Peter Miller 1418 18% 47% Avg
660
351
407
Richard Baltas 1187 16% 47% Avg
563
288
336
Bob Baffert 1134 27% 62% Great
706
252
176
George Papaprodromou 1105 13% 38% Poor
417
303
385
Michael W McCarthy 984 16% 45% Avg
441
236
307
Jeff Mullins 914 19% 48% Good
442
234
238
Peter Eurton 832 16% 49% Good
405
194
233
Robert B Hess 741 11% 40% Poor
295
216
230
Richard E Mandella 710 21% 50% Good
355
166
189
Steve R Knapp 707 14% 41% Avg
291
194
222
Carla Gaines 668 12% 41% Poor
272
173
223
Mike Puype 666 15% 42% Avg
281
171
214
Leonard Powell 644 14% 42% Avg
272
171
201
Steven Miyadi 596 15% 47% Avg
278
150
168
Vladimir Cerin 579 17% 49% Good
283
155
141
Tim Yakteen 568 17% 45% Avg
258
152
158
Brian J Koriner 550 14% 43% Poor
235
129
186
Hector O Palma 532 11% 34% Poor
183
171
178
Ryan Hanson 525 13% 36% Poor
190
148
187
Craig Anthony Lewis 503 14% 44% Avg
220
157
126
Steve Knapp 450 14% 44% Avg
198
121
131
Patrick Gallagher 447 11% 31% Bad
138
130
179
Val Brinkerhoff 436 7% 34% Bad
148
135
153
John A Shirreffs 430 14% 48% Avg
206
103
121
Neil D Drysdale 413 11% 32% Bad
131
124
158
Jeff Bonde 408 11% 41% Poor
167
109
132
Simon Callaghan 395 14% 45% Avg
179
100
116
J Keith Desormeaux 324 12% 43% Avg
139
84
101
Dan Blacker 323 15% 41% Avg
132
88
103
J Eric Kruljac 322 16% 39% Poor
127
80
115
Jorge Periban 318 11% 34% Bad
108
96
114
Librado Barocio 317 14% 43% Avg
137
95
85
Jerry Hollendorfer 290 19% 45% Avg
130
79
81
Sean McCarthy 282 17% 44% Avg
123
72
87
Kristin Mulhall 270 17% 47% Good
127
74
69
Ruben Gomez 267 4% 19% Bad
52
92
123
Jonathan Wong 255 12% 41% Poor
104
69
82
Craig Dollase 254 11% 41% Poor
103
65
86
Ian Kruljac 248 10% 34% Bad
85
74
89
Ronald W Ellis 248 15% 42% Avg
104
73
71
James M Cassidy 244 11% 32% Bad
79
70
95
William Spawr 242 15% 48% Avg
115
54
73
Vann Belvoir 235 9% 34% Bad
80
66
89
Gary Stute 233 11% 42% Poor
97
65
71
Reed Saldana 228 11% 35% Bad
79
68
81
Luis Mendez 221 15% 43% Avg
96
61
64

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.