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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 +
Chad C Brown 1335 22% 58% Great
773
316
246
Todd A Pletcher 1038 20% 50% Good
522
255
261
William I Mott 798 15% 45% Avg
359
197
242
Michael J Maker 752 15% 42% Poor
318
182
252
Linda Rice 721 18% 53% Good
382
161
178
Rudy R Rodriguez 672 11% 35% Bad
238
186
248
Christophe Clement 519 18% 51% Good
267
129
123
Steven M Asmussen 464 22% 52% Great
243
104
117
David G Donk 400 10% 32% Bad
128
123
149
Mark E Casse 392 14% 43% Avg
169
102
121
Jeremiah C Englehart 371 15% 40% Poor
149
72
150
George Weaver 363 11% 41% Poor
149
100
114
Brad H Cox 354 23% 58% Great
204
71
79
Jorge R Abreu 270 16% 45% Avg
122
66
82
Raymond Handal 267 14% 37% Poor
98
69
100
Claude R McGaughey 267 13% 39% Poor
103
82
82
Wesley A Ward 265 20% 51% Good
136
60
69
Joe Sharp 262 16% 41% Poor
108
62
92
Mark A Hennig 251 10% 31% Bad
78
65
108
Danny Gargan 245 16% 47% Avg
114
58
73
Michelle Nevin 240 10% 35% Bad
84
59
97
Thomas Morley 236 13% 36% Bad
85
52
99
Kenneth G McPeek 231 14% 39% Poor
90
65
76
Rob Atras 220 14% 45% Avg
98
65
57
Gary C Contessa 218 7% 30% Bad
66
63
89
H Graham Motion 203 12% 41% Poor
83
55
65
Bruce N Levine 190 13% 37% Poor
71
54
65
John C Kimmel 189 11% 37% Bad
69
49
71
Saffie A Joseph Jr 187 13% 44% Avg
83
46
58
Bruce R Brown 183 8% 23% Bad
43
52
88
Charlton Baker 176 14% 35% Poor
62
53
61
Chris J Englehart 176 12% 36% Bad
64
38
74
James W Ferraro 174 4% 15% Bad
26
42
106
Thomas M Amoss 171 17% 43% Avg
74
46
51
John P Terranova 169 13% 38% Poor
65
41
63
Gary Sciacca 169 5% 21% Bad
36
49
84
D Wayne Lukas 165 8% 35% Bad
58
37
70
Carlos F Martin 164 11% 27% Bad
45
42
77
James T Ryerson 159 8% 29% Bad
46
54
59
Thomas Albertrani 155 12% 33% Bad
51
37
67
Michael J Trombetta 155 16% 43% Poor
66
35
54
Paz Horacio De 154 12% 49% Avg
76
34
44
Orlando Noda 149 15% 44% Poor
66
23
60
Robertino Diodoro 146 14% 50% Good
73
37
36
Mertkan Kantarmaci 138 19% 45% Good
62
38
38
Wayne Potts 136 4% 32% Bad
44
39
53
H James Bond 135 18% 40% Poor
54
35
46
Barclay Tagg 130 14% 40% Poor
52
31
47
Randi Persaud 129 2% 11% Bad
14
33
82
Robert N Falcone Jr 127 13% 51% Good
65
28
34

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.