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 +
Anthony Farrior 193 24% 60% Great
115
39
39
Jay P Bernardini 172 25% 63% Great
109
35
28
Robert M Gorham 123 25% 53% Great
65
38
20
Steve F Williams 76 9% 42% Poor
32
22
22
Rey Juarez-Mendoza 75 16% 53% Good
40
15
20
Tim Dixon 75 9% 43% Avg
32
24
19
Salvador G Flores 70 14% 34% Poor
24
26
20
Frank Lucarelli 67 16% 49% Good
33
16
18
Janessa Lee Muniz 64 12% 36% Poor
23
18
23
David Bustamante 56 5% 27% Bad
15
14
27
Rafael S Barraza 55 13% 45% Good
25
17
13
Matthew M Fales 55 18% 58% Great
32
13
10
Gary L Johnson 52 10% 48% Good
25
17
10
Jami C Poole 51 14% 57% Good
29
9
13
Kevin Eikleberry 50 20% 54% Great
27
15
8
Rodney C Faulkner 49 10% 53% Good
26
12
11
Joe Toye 47 13% 47% Good
22
17
8
Justin Radosevich 47 17% 47% Good
22
14
11
Mark W Buehrer 44 36% 68% Great
30
9
5
Jason DaCosta 43 14% 47% Avg
20
12
11
Hugo Andrade 42 14% 33% Poor
14
13
15
Tena Birdwell 42 2% 24% Bad
10
9
23
Penny Rone 39 23% 46% Great
18
13
8
Julie A Pappada 39 18% 38% Avg
15
14
10
Juan Padilla 35 11% 34% Poor
12
11
12
Vladimir Cerin 29 24% 45% Great
13
12
4
Shane M Spiess 26 12% 31% Avg
8
13
5
Jesse Oberlander 25 4% 36% Poor
9
10
6
David Wolochuk 25 28% 60% Great
15
5
5
Manuel Vlaun 24 12% 50% Great
12
9
3
Wendell L Matt 23 22% 35% Good
8
10
5
Michelle Winters 23 4% 30% Poor
7
10
6
Victor M Trujillo 22 14% 50% Good
11
5
6
Mike Abney 21 5% 24% Bad
5
4
12
Jose A Garcia 21 43% 67% Great
14
1
6
Marcelino Trujillo 19 11% 37% Bad
7
4
8
Jacinto Lopez 17 0% 18% Bad
3
4
10
Jennifer Nunnally 16 12% 38% Avg
6
6
4
C R Trout 16 44% 50% Great
8
2
6
Sergio Barrio 16 12% 31% Bad
5
2
9
Antonio Soto 15 13% 47% Poor
7
2
6
Jose Bracho Jr 15 13% 60% Great
9
4
2
James Victor Hale 14 0% 29% Bad
4
2
8
Jesus Munoz Escobedo 11 0% 9% Bad
1
3
7
Jon Phil Zimmerman 7 14% 71% Great
5
1
1
Dewey Williams 5 0% 40% Bad
2
0
3
Mikhail Carmichael 5 0% 40% Great
2
3
0
Rodrigo Madrigal Sr 5 0% 40% Avg
2
2
1
Chad T Skelton 3 0% 100%  - 
3
0
0
Kirk Ziadie 2 0% 0%  - 
0
1
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.