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 143 15% 45% Avg
65
37
41
Philip D'Amato 105 19% 51% Good
54
24
27
Steve R Knapp 102 12% 41% Poor
42
27
33
Michael W McCarthy 90 17% 44% Avg
40
21
29
Mark Glatt 80 24% 55% Great
44
18
18
Leonard Powell 76 12% 43% Avg
33
24
19
George Papaprodromou 69 14% 58% Good
40
11
18
Ryan Hanson 69 14% 45% Good
31
21
17
John W Sadler 67 25% 51% Great
34
20
13
Richard Baltas 59 17% 47% Good
28
15
16
Peter Eurton 56 20% 55% Great
31
14
11
Jeff Mullins 55 25% 62% Great
34
10
11
Mike Puype 54 20% 54% Great
29
15
10
Peter Miller 48 17% 52% Good
25
12
11
Tim Yakteen 42 14% 38% Poor
16
13
13
Bob Baffert 40 25% 57% Great
23
8
9
Edwin G Alvarez 40 2% 28% Bad
11
16
13
Craig Anthony Lewis 39 10% 56% Good
22
7
10
Steven Miyadi 37 11% 38% Poor
14
12
11
Richard E Mandella 37 19% 41% Good
15
15
7
Neil D Drysdale 35 9% 23% Bad
8
15
12
Val Brinkerhoff 33 24% 45% Great
15
11
7
Antonio C Garcia 32 9% 38% Bad
12
7
13
Hector O Palma 32 12% 28% Bad
9
12
11
Carla Gaines 31 6% 35% Bad
11
8
12
Ruben Gomez 31 3% 29% Bad
9
8
14
Brian J Koriner 31 16% 55% Great
17
8
6
Genaro Vallejo 31 13% 29% Bad
9
9
13
Andy Mathis 30 17% 40% Poor
12
7
11
Sean McCarthy 29 21% 52% Avg
15
4
10
Vladimir Cerin 29 14% 38% Avg
11
12
6
Dan Blacker 27 7% 33% Bad
9
6
12
Brendan W Galvin 27 11% 22% Bad
6
12
9
Jeff Bonde 27 7% 30% Bad
8
10
9
Isidro Tamayo 27 15% 44% Poor
12
5
10
Robert B Hess Jr 26 12% 54% Good
14
6
6
Tim McCanna 25 4% 16% Bad
4
9
12
Victor L Garcia 24 17% 42% Poor
10
5
9
D Wayne Baker 23 9% 22% Bad
5
9
9
Librado Barocio 23 22% 57% Great
13
8
2
Gloria Haley 22 5% 18% Bad
4
6
12
Bill McLean 21 14% 38% Avg
8
7
6
Jonathan Thomas 20 15% 35% Avg
7
9
4
Daniel Dunham 18 6% 28% Bad
5
7
6
Blaine D Wright 18 11% 56% Avg
10
2
6
Jesus J Uranga 18 6% 39% Poor
7
5
6
Ronald W Ellis 15 20% 33% Good
5
8
2
Patrick Gallagher 15 0% 40% Bad
6
1
8
Felix Rondan 14 0% 29% Poor
4
8
2
Paula S Capestro 14 21% 50% Avg
7
1
6

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.