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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 +
Maker Michael J 630 16% 42% Poor
267
127
236
Garcia Genaro 414 11% 35% Bad
144
84
186
Ward Wesley A 375 33% 59% Great
221
62
92
Lobo Paulo H 358 16% 41% Poor
148
68
142
Foster Eric N 330 14% 36% Bad
119
85
126
Morey William E 327 24% 50% Good
164
69
94
Reed Eric R 320 10% 32% Bad
102
70
148
Hernandez Rey 292 12% 32% Bad
93
48
151
Contreras Cipriano 276 21% 45% Avg
123
60
93
West Ethan W 273 12% 35% Bad
95
62
116
Anderson Susan L 270 13% 36% Bad
97
61
112
Drury Thomas 269 16% 41% Poor
109
69
91
Cox Brad H 268 26% 57% Great
154
59
55
Colebrook Ben 259 13% 42% Poor
110
50
99
Greenhill Jeffrey L 245 9% 30% Bad
74
53
118
Hammond Kim 240 16% 40% Poor
96
50
94
Smith Larry E 235 14% 39% Bad
92
49
94
Adams Nancy L 229 6% 22% Bad
51
49
129
Grubbs Jamie L 225 12% 40% Bad
91
42
92
Estvanko Richard 224 11% 33% Bad
75
51
98
Brownfield Claude L 215 12% 35% Bad
76
46
93
Casse Mark E 211 13% 37% Bad
79
51
81
Walsh Brendan P 210 13% 36% Bad
76
41
93
Ennis John 209 19% 39% Bad
82
33
94
Asmussen Steven M 208 11% 40% Poor
83
48
77
Cano Juan Munoz 202 15% 43% Poor
86
41
75
McPeek Kenneth G 191 13% 29% Bad
56
36
99
Tomlinson Michael A 180 13% 35% Bad
63
43
74
Evans II Michael 178 7% 24% Bad
43
50
85
Klopp Randy L 170 12% 31% Bad
53
38
79
Romans Dale L 167 13% 31% Bad
51
33
83
Helmbrecht William R 167 7% 21% Bad
35
29
103
Wilkes Ian R 164 12% 37% Bad
61
34
69
Danner Douglas W 159 19% 45% Avg
71
31
57
Davis Joseph D 158 13% 35% Bad
56
40
62
Rivelli Larry 155 30% 55% Great
86
24
45
Corrigan Jimmy 152 11% 32% Bad
48
35
69
Elliott Michelle L 144 5% 32% Bad
46
31
67
Fernandez Edward 144 6% 17% Bad
25
36
83
Cowans William D 144 16% 46% Poor
66
23
55
Girten Tim 144 11% 29% Bad
42
32
70
Jarvis Kathy 137 7% 26% Bad
35
32
70
Oliver Victoria H 136 7% 29% Bad
39
31
66
Kenneally Eddie 133 9% 37% Bad
49
29
55
Correas Ignacio 132 5% 32% Bad
42
37
53
Wittek Karyn 130 12% 32% Bad
42
27
61
McCarthy Michael W 129 17% 46% Poor
59
21
49
Cordero-Lopez Alexis Cordero 129 14% 37% Poor
48
32
49
Walsh Ryan D 128 11% 38% Bad
48
28
52
Short Tommy C 128 3% 19% Bad
24
22
82

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.