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 +
Steven M Asmussen 565 18% 46% Avg
258
140
167
Anthony Farrior 218 24% 59% Great
128
48
42
William I Mott 161 19% 47% Avg
75
35
51
Ronney W Brown 152 25% 61% Great
92
34
26
Michael E Jones Jr 127 12% 42% Avg
53
45
29
Michael W McCarthy 126 16% 45% Avg
57
27
42
Jonathan Wong 102 16% 47% Avg
48
21
33
Peter Eurton 99 16% 53% Great
52
27
20
Eric N Foster 93 18% 41% Avg
38
23
32
Jose Corrales 93 15% 35% Avg
33
41
19
Karen E Jacks 87 15% 44% Avg
38
28
21
J R Caldwell 82 30% 67% Great
55
17
10
Juan Carlos Avila 80 25% 50% Good
40
17
23
Kent Knudsen 76 4% 30% Poor
23
34
19
David M Gomez-Barraza 67 9% 39% Bad
26
13
28
A Ferris Allen III 64 8% 47% Good
30
21
13
Jeff Mullins 61 28% 56% Great
34
17
10
Stacey R Viands 43 9% 44% Avg
19
13
11
Jeff Bonde 41 5% 44% Poor
18
12
11
Jose M Castro 40 2% 25% Bad
10
17
13
Phillip Mark Dison 40 0% 15% Bad
6
10
24
Steven Chircop 39 10% 44% Avg
17
11
11
Jorge Luis Sanchez Jr 38 3% 24% Bad
9
8
21
H G Aldavaz 34 6% 21% Bad
7
9
18
Scott Gelner 34 12% 50% Good
17
10
7
Edgar Espinoza 32 9% 31% Bad
10
4
18
Val Brinkerhoff 31 16% 45% Good
14
9
8
Ruben Gomez 30 10% 30% Bad
9
8
13
Jesus Esquivel 29 14% 38% Poor
11
8
10
Edwin G Alvarez 28 7% 43% Avg
12
9
7
Karyn Wittek 26 8% 27% Bad
7
5
14
Kenneth M Cox 26 15% 62% Great
16
4
6
Brian J Koriner 24 12% 54% Good
13
4
7
Edward J Coletti Jr 19 5% 42% Bad
8
4
7
Angelo G Jackson 18 11% 50% Good
9
5
4
Craig Dollase 16 19% 44% Good
7
6
3
Emanuel J Geralis 15 7% 47% Good
7
5
3
Cardel Cormier 15 0% 20% Bad
3
3
9
Erin Carpio 15 0% 40% Avg
6
7
2
Emilio Cadena Jr 14 7% 50% Poor
7
2
5
Patrick Devereux Jr 14 29% 71% Great
10
3
1
Dana Hancock 14 7% 50% Avg
7
3
4
Paulo Michael P De 13 8% 46% Avg
6
4
3
Henry Walters 11 9% 64% Great
7
2
2
Jacob Renteria 10 10% 20% Bad
2
4
4
Adam Kitchingman 9 22% 56% Good
5
1
3
Juvencio Canales 9 22% 56% Good
5
1
3
Edwin L Tobin 8 0% 38% Bad
3
2
3
William B Thomas 4 0% 0%  - 
0
1
3
Crystal G Pickett 1 0% 0%  - 
0
0
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.