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 +
Jay P Bernardini 163 26% 65% Great
106
31
26
M Brent Davidson 110 12% 38% Avg
42
38
30
Justin R Evans 109 26% 52% Great
57
27
25
Robert C Cline 107 23% 52% Good
56
21
30
Steve F Williams 100 11% 44% Avg
44
27
29
Alex J Torres-Casas 95 19% 44% Avg
42
18
35
Juan Pablo Silva 91 19% 53% Good
48
21
22
Timothy E Hamm 85 12% 42% Avg
36
26
23
Tim Dixon 85 6% 33% Bad
28
27
30
Josue Arce 81 14% 41% Avg
33
29
19
Rey Juarez-Mendoza 80 11% 48% Avg
38
15
27
Scott A Lake 78 15% 40% Avg
31
30
17
Jorge Diaz 78 10% 35% Bad
27
22
29
Scott Corderman 74 16% 59% Great
44
18
12
Vann Belvoir 67 15% 43% Avg
29
17
21
Mark W Buehrer 67 27% 57% Great
38
17
12
Bennie L Woolley Jr 65 11% 45% Avg
29
16
20
Kevin Eikleberry 61 28% 62% Great
38
15
8
Larry E Smith 61 20% 54% Great
33
16
12
Scott Tubbs 58 9% 24% Bad
14
17
27
Boyd Caster 54 6% 26% Bad
14
18
22
Michael E Lauer 53 6% 26% Bad
14
10
29
Gary L Johnson 50 6% 46% Avg
23
17
10
Joe S Offolter 50 12% 56% Great
28
18
4
Dayson LaVanway 46 11% 26% Bad
12
12
22
Julie A Pappada 46 17% 43% Good
20
15
11
Juan Padilla 46 13% 39% Poor
18
14
14
Shon M Dunlap 44 2% 14% Bad
6
16
22
Kari Craddock 42 14% 52% Great
22
12
8
James L Gilmour 37 11% 38% Poor
14
10
13
Shane Meyers 37 14% 57% Great
21
10
6
Irving Rodriguez 35 17% 34% Poor
12
11
12
Wendell L Matt 31 19% 39% Good
12
12
7
Candelario Villamar 26 4% 31% Bad
8
7
11
Shawn H Davis 25 16% 40% Poor
10
5
10
Craig Sweeting 25 20% 44% Avg
11
5
9
Charles Essex 25 16% 32% Bad
8
5
12
Shelly Crowe 24 8% 29% Bad
7
7
10
Megan Fadlovich 24 8% 46% Avg
11
7
6
Marcelino Trujillo 22 14% 41% Poor
9
5
8
Mike Chambers 22 23% 64% Great
14
6
2
Ian Jewell 21 0% 38% Poor
8
7
6
C R Trout 20 45% 60% Great
12
2
6
Debbie Peery 18 22% 61% Great
11
3
4
Jon Phil Zimmerman 15 7% 33% Bad
5
2
8
Jalen Delenzy Pugh 15 7% 40% Bad
6
3
6
Mary Tate 13 0% 15% Bad
2
7
4
Gilberto Canales 11 9% 36% Avg
4
5
2
Dewey Williams 8 0% 25% Bad
2
1
5
Kirk Ziadie 5 40% 40% Great
2
2
1

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.