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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 +
Michael J Maker 683 16% 41% Poor
282
138
263
Genaro Garcia 434 12% 35% Bad
151
87
196
Wesley A Ward 394 32% 58% Great
229
65
100
Paulo H Lobo 380 16% 41% Poor
155
73
152
Eric N Foster 372 15% 37% Poor
137
96
139
William E Morey 359 23% 49% Good
176
78
105
Eric R Reed 334 10% 31% Bad
104
72
158
Rey Hernandez 303 12% 32% Bad
96
51
156
Brad H Cox 297 26% 58% Great
171
65
61
Ethan W West 289 11% 34% Bad
98
64
127
Susan L Anderson 289 13% 36% Bad
104
62
123
Thomas Drury 288 17% 41% Avg
118
75
95
Cipriano Contreras 284 22% 45% Avg
129
60
95
Ben Colebrook 265 13% 42% Poor
111
53
101
Jeffrey L Greenhill 256 9% 29% Bad
74
56
126
Larry E Smith 253 14% 40% Poor
102
51
100
Nancy L Adams 248 5% 22% Bad
54
54
140
Jamie L Grubbs 246 11% 41% Bad
100
44
102
Richard Estvanko 246 10% 34% Bad
83
53
110
John Ennis 242 19% 42% Poor
102
40
100
Kim Hammond 240 16% 40% Poor
96
50
94
Brendan P Walsh 240 15% 38% Bad
92
44
104
Claude L Brownfield 227 11% 34% Bad
78
50
99
Steven M Asmussen 225 12% 39% Poor
87
56
82
Mark E Casse 211 13% 37% Bad
79
51
81
Juan Munoz Cano 202 15% 43% Poor
86
41
75
Michael A Tomlinson 196 13% 36% Bad
70
46
80
Kenneth G McPeek 194 13% 30% Bad
59
36
99
Michael Evans II 192 7% 24% Bad
46
55
91
Randy L Klopp 184 12% 30% Bad
55
40
89
Dale L Romans 174 12% 30% Bad
52
33
89
Larry Rivelli 172 31% 56% Great
97
26
49
William R Helmbrecht 170 7% 21% Bad
36
29
105
Ian R Wilkes 169 11% 36% Bad
61
37
71
Jesus Esquivel 165 13% 28% Bad
47
43
75
Joseph D Davis 164 13% 35% Bad
58
42
64
Michelle L Elliott 163 5% 34% Bad
55
33
75
Douglas W Danner 163 20% 45% Avg
73
32
58
Jimmy Corrigan 162 10% 31% Bad
51
38
73
William D Cowans 161 17% 47% Avg
76
26
59
Tim Girten 153 12% 29% Bad
44
34
75
Edward Fernandez 151 6% 18% Bad
27
39
85
Ryan D Walsh 149 9% 36% Bad
54
36
59
Victoria H Oliver 148 7% 28% Bad
42
34
72
Kathy Jarvis 146 7% 25% Bad
37
34
75
Eddie Kenneally 144 10% 37% Bad
53
31
60
Karyn Wittek 144 11% 30% Bad
43
32
69
John A Hancock 141 11% 33% Bad
46
32
63
Ignacio Correas 140 4% 30% Bad
42
39
59
Tommy C Short 135 3% 19% Bad
25
24
86

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.