Top Jockey

While oftentimes horses win or lose races on their own, jockeys and trainers can play a key role in giving their horse the best chance to run to their potential. While horseplayers can look up jockey win percentages in a number of places across the web, Betting News jockey analysis tool provides a more in depth analysis of where jockeys may have a stronger impact on the outcome of a race.

Race setups are very different based on distance and surface. A sprint on dirt may require different tactics than a sprint on turf or a route on dirt. Even though a jockey may have an overall low percentage, they may get a disproportionate number of their wins or in-the-money finishes at a specific distance on a specific surface. If you can find this jockey you may be able to cash on a horse that other players are throwing out. Inversely, if you can find a high percentage jockey with bad stats in today's conditions, that can be equally as profitable.

With Betting News jockey analysis tool you can break down jockey stats by distance, surface, track, claiming level, and even post position to find these hidden angles that can be crucial elements in selecting winners at a price. As you adjust the filters the ratings will also adjust to reflect the jockey's past ability to finish in the top 3 placings in races under the selected conditions.

New to our tools? Read the handicapping tools guide. Also, don't forget to check out the trainer analysis tool to give yourself a further edge on the competition!

Track

Surface

Condition

Distances

Race Types

Posts

Top Jockeys

Name Starts Win % Show % DHP
1st/2nd/3rd
4th or 5th
6th +
Isaac Castillo 247 15% 48% Good
118
63
66
Angel Cruz 243 16% 48% Good
117
65
61
Elio J Barrera 238 12% 41% Poor
98
64
76
Yarmarie L Correa 220 25% 68% Great
150
50
20
Luis Alberto Batista 209 15% 47% Avg
98
51
60
Martin Chuan 208 20% 53% Great
111
53
44
Erik Barbaran 205 20% 60% Great
123
42
40
Jose A Bracho 182 16% 44% Good
80
57
45
Jose A Batista 175 22% 50% Good
88
41
46
Alex Achard 172 14% 39% Poor
67
42
63
Abner Adorno 150 10% 43% Poor
64
34
52
Rocco Bowen 149 19% 56% Great
83
42
24
Joseph C Bealmear 147 9% 33% Bad
48
42
57
Keiber J Coa 142 19% 62% Great
88
32
22
Alexander Castillo 135 13% 46% Avg
62
30
43
Alberto Burgos 134 13% 46% Avg
62
33
39
Ricardo Barrios 122 14% 42% Avg
51
37
34
Alexander Crispin 121 12% 21% Bad
25
29
67
Alexander Chavez 120 12% 36% Poor
43
42
35
Keith J Asmussen 114 11% 32% Bad
37
34
43
Carol Cedeno 105 6% 37% Bad
39
30
36
Mauro Cedillo 99 15% 47% Good
47
33
19
Misael Alvarez 91 5% 27% Bad
25
26
40
Inoel Beato 90 24% 57% Great
51
24
15
Ricardo Chiappe 90 22% 50% Great
45
26
19
Samuel E Bermudez 89 8% 30% Bad
27
22
40
Wilfredo Corujo 86 10% 42% Avg
36
27
23
Jean Aguilar 85 15% 49% Avg
42
16
27
Angel Castillo 85 9% 36% Bad
31
24
30
Victor R Carrasco 75 7% 35% Bad
26
14
35
Gavin Ashton 67 9% 37% Bad
25
17
25
David Cora 65 11% 38% Good
25
29
11
Jose R Betancourt 63 5% 29% Bad
18
21
24
Cristian Benitez 62 16% 50% Great
31
25
6
Brian Bell 61 21% 59% Great
36
20
5
Corry Beland 59 20% 46% Good
27
15
17
Leonardo Corujo 59 19% 46% Good
27
20
12
Agustin Bracho 57 7% 39% Poor
22
19
16
Ramiro S Castillo 52 12% 46% Great
24
22
6
Brooke Bays 45 24% 53% Great
24
12
9
A Ceron-Zamudio 35 14% 37% Poor
13
9
13
Rolando Aragon 31 29% 48% Great
15
13
3
John C Berrios 31 3% 16% Bad
5
6
20
J B Botello 31 19% 52% Great
16
11
4
Max Badal 30 3% 27% Avg
8
19
3
McKenna Anderson 29 0% 7% Bad
2
9
18
Andres Calleja 24 0% 25% Bad
6
12
6
Laird O Bailey 20 5% 15% Bad
3
7
10
Medina J Ambrocio 14 14% 43% Avg
6
4
4
Manuel Aguilar 12 8% 33% Bad
4
4
4

Why Jockeys Matter?

Jockeys are pivotal for a couple of different reasons in a horse race. First, jockeys are responsible for positioning horses once the gates open. This may include getting them to the lead or dropping them into the proper position based on the horses preferred run style.

The second responsibility that jockeys have is to help the horse understand when to rate their energy and when to run. A jockey with a bad internal clock can leave his horse with too much to do late or chase after a pace that is way too fast for his horse.

The final role of the jockey is steering the horse into the path that will allow them to have the strongest finish to the wire. For all of these reasons having a good jockey on the horse you’re backing can be a great asset for any horse player.

Why is the Top Jockey Tool Helpful?

Horses can be upgraded or downgraded based on their jockeys, but many people will look at the overall percentage of a jockey and make their decision. However, jockeys tend to be specialists. There are very few that excel over all surfaces and distances. The DHP top jockey tool can help you break down jockeys by track, surface, condition, distance, level, and post position to better determine how they are likely to impact the horse’s race.

Using the Top Jockey 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: Different tracks have different configurations. A jockey with success at the track could mean that they have a better understanding of how to ride there as opposed to riders who more recently shipped in.
    • Surface: Dirt and turf races are run in exact opposite dynamics. A good gate rider is likely to upgrade a horse on dirt because the race tends to reward early speed. Conversely on turf the best riders are good at knowing when to time their acceleration as the horses tend to run the fastest in the last part of the race.
    • Condition: This factor plays the biggest role when the ground is not fast or firm. A lot of tracks will drain water in different ways and a jockey with a good score on an off track could suggest they know how to avoid tiring paths on the track.
    • 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.
    • Race Types: Not all horses are the same. Knowing how a jockey does in a particular condition can be very important. For example, a gate rider might be better in a maiden race because those horses haven’t learned to win and may be hesitant to pass other horses. If you have a jockey that can get to the lead in these races that may suggest they can steal the race. A jockey who performs well in stakes races may suggest the jockey know how to get the most out of talented horses.
    • Barriers/Post Positions: Post positions can also be a vital factor in picking your jockey. Riders with success in post 1-3 are typically good at getting horses out quickly so as to avoid horses trying to merge down closer to the rail and avoid ground loss. Riders better in outer posts may be more adept at getting horses positioned correctly behind speed horses for a final run to the finish.
  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 Jockey Tool for an Individual Jockey

While the top jockey tool is extremely effective for looking at all the jockeys side by side, another useful tool is looking up an individual jockey.

This can be done from the top jockey charts. Simply find the jockey 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 jockey tool.

Using this view you may be able to identify spots where you can beat a high percentage jockey. For example, the leading rider in the country Irad Ortiz Jr. is rated “Great” in most categories, except when his horses break from posts 10+. From these posts he is rated as “Poor”.