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.

New to our tools? Read the handicapping tools guide. Also, 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 +
Jason L Olmstead 289 15% 44% Avg
128
68
93
Anthony Farrior 181 20% 51% Good
93
36
52
Kelli Martinez 149 15% 48% Good
71
48
30
Ronney W Brown 132 19% 51% Great
67
44
21
Chris J Englehart 121 17% 41% Avg
50
33
38
Steve R Knapp 101 7% 39% Bad
39
25
37
Jose Luis Sanchez III 98 15% 37% Bad
36
22
40
Josie Carroll 96 22% 47% Good
45
23
28
Jacinto Solis 95 9% 38% Poor
36
27
32
Lynn Chleborad 89 9% 31% Bad
28
30
31
Joseph D Davis 88 12% 44% Avg
39
22
27
Tanner Tracy 85 4% 27% Bad
23
22
40
Juan Munoz Cano 84 20% 49% Good
41
21
22
Kevin J Joy 78 26% 53% Great
41
25
12
Dale L Romans 72 14% 22% Bad
16
24
32
Miguel Penaloza 71 15% 56% Good
40
11
20
Ethan W West 62 26% 63% Great
39
13
10
Barbara J Minshall 62 10% 40% Poor
25
19
18
Sid C Attard 59 22% 44% Poor
26
8
25
Jose Silva Jr 58 29% 64% Great
37
12
9
Genaro Vallejo 57 7% 28% Bad
16
14
27
Richard Baltas 53 8% 30% Bad
16
18
19
Jimmy W Guerra 52 8% 25% Bad
13
11
28
Samuel Breaux 49 12% 35% Bad
17
11
21
Ronald G Sigler 49 16% 43% Avg
21
15
13
Cynthia E McKee 47 17% 45% Good
21
17
9
Victor Hanson 46 4% 26% Bad
12
12
22
Michael E Biehler 44 16% 48% Good
21
11
12
Ricardo Aguirre 38 3% 29% Bad
11
10
17
Agustin Gonzalez Jr 37 14% 24% Bad
9
12
16
Phillip Mark Dison 35 6% 31% Bad
11
9
15
Jeff Bonde 32 19% 28% Bad
9
11
12
Victor G Fierro 31 19% 42% Good
13
10
8
Angelo G Jackson 30 7% 23% Bad
7
8
15
Debra E Rombis 29 21% 45% Good
13
9
7
Isidro Tamayo 29 3% 21% Bad
6
7
16
Paulina Sinnefia 27 19% 63% Great
17
7
3
Michael Evans II 26 35% 58% Great
15
7
4
Angel Sanchez 23 9% 39% Bad
9
5
9
Santiago Tranquilino 23 13% 52% Great
12
8
3
Richard G Hayashi 21 19% 67% Great
14
5
2
Manuel Vlaun 21 19% 38% Poor
8
4
9
Colby Williams 20 10% 35% Poor
7
7
6
David Borsk 19 26% 63% Great
12
5
2
Steve Bryant 15 13% 33% Bad
5
2
8
Joseph P Mahan 15 0% 47% Avg
7
5
3
Oscar Heredia 14 0% 29% Bad
4
4
6
Briannah McDaniel 10 20% 60% Great
6
1
3
Carl J O'Callaghan 4 0% 0%  - 
0
3
1
Chad Ladner 1 0% 100%  - 
1
0
0

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.