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 128 20% 43% Avg
55
33
40
Philip D'Amato 103 17% 45% Avg
46
28
29
Steve R Knapp 97 16% 51% Good
49
25
23
Michael W McCarthy 91 18% 45% Avg
41
19
31
Mark Glatt 80 26% 55% Great
44
18
18
George Papaprodromou 77 13% 57% Good
44
12
21
Leonard Powell 75 13% 43% Avg
32
22
21
John W Sadler 70 13% 39% Avg
27
26
17
Ryan Hanson 66 8% 47% Avg
31
19
16
Richard Baltas 64 14% 47% Avg
30
14
20
Bob Baffert 53 30% 58% Great
31
10
12
Jeff Mullins 53 30% 64% Great
34
12
7
Peter Eurton 50 12% 48% Good
24
16
10
Mike Puype 49 12% 43% Avg
21
16
12
Tim Yakteen 47 15% 40% Poor
19
13
15
Peter Miller 41 15% 37% Avg
15
16
10
Robert B Hess Jr 37 16% 49% Good
18
10
9
Richard E Mandella 36 11% 39% Poor
14
11
11
Antonio C Garcia 35 14% 37% Poor
13
11
11
Craig Anthony Lewis 33 9% 61% Great
20
9
4
Jeff Bonde 32 3% 41% Poor
13
10
9
Val Brinkerhoff 31 23% 48% Good
15
8
8
Steven Miyadi 31 6% 32% Bad
10
9
12
Andy Mathis 31 13% 35% Bad
11
8
12
Neil D Drysdale 29 7% 14% Bad
4
10
15
Edwin G Alvarez 28 11% 46% Avg
13
8
7
Carla Gaines 28 14% 50% Avg
14
5
9
Brendan W Galvin 27 11% 30% Poor
8
12
7
Jonathan Thomas 27 22% 48% Great
13
8
6
Sean McCarthy 27 7% 37% Bad
10
4
13
Isidro Tamayo 26 15% 23% Bad
6
7
13
Brian J Koriner 24 12% 58% Good
14
4
6
Ruben Gomez 24 8% 29% Bad
7
6
11
Dan Blacker 24 8% 29% Bad
7
7
10
Bill McLean 23 4% 43% Poor
10
6
7
Hector O Palma 23 9% 30% Bad
7
6
10
D Wayne Baker 23 4% 13% Bad
3
7
13
Gloria Haley 23 9% 17% Bad
4
7
12
Genaro Vallejo 23 4% 17% Bad
4
7
12
Tim McCanna 21 5% 14% Bad
3
7
11
Ronald W Ellis 20 10% 50% Great
10
7
3
Librado Barocio 19 26% 74% Great
14
2
3
Daniel Dunham 17 6% 12% Bad
2
8
7
Victor L Garcia 17 18% 59% Great
10
4
3
Vladimir Cerin 17 29% 59% Great
10
5
2
Patrick Gallagher 16 12% 38% Bad
6
2
8
Blaine D Wright 16 19% 56% Great
9
3
4
Paula S Capestro 15 7% 33% Bad
5
2
8
Craig Dollase 14 7% 36% Poor
5
5
4
Simon Callaghan 14 7% 43% Poor
6
4
4

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.