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 574 16% 44% Avg
254
140
180
Anthony Farrior 201 23% 59% Great
119
42
40
William I Mott 167 19% 43% Avg
71
39
57
Doug F O'Neill 158 14% 42% Poor
66
38
54
W Bret Calhoun 156 21% 49% Good
76
38
42
Ronney W Brown 149 26% 62% Great
93
31
25
Ron Moquett 141 18% 43% Avg
61
33
47
Scott E Young 130 17% 45% Avg
58
30
42
Chris A Hartman 107 17% 48% Good
51
30
26
Kevin J Joy 106 15% 48% Good
51
36
19
Juan Pablo Silva 105 18% 51% Good
54
27
24
Jose Silva Jr 86 37% 66% Great
57
17
12
Leonard Powell 83 7% 39% Poor
32
30
21
Jose Antonio Flores 80 20% 50% Great
40
25
15
S Trey Wood 80 8% 32% Bad
26
29
25
John Ennis 76 11% 34% Bad
26
18
32
Kim A Puhl 71 11% 44% Avg
31
22
18
Rigoberto Guillen 68 4% 29% Bad
20
26
22
Lynn Chleborad 68 16% 35% Poor
24
22
22
David M Gomez-Barraza 67 10% 40% Poor
27
17
23
Kevin Eikleberry 52 23% 56% Great
29
16
7
Armando Hernandez 51 12% 53% Good
27
10
14
Joe Toye 50 14% 48% Good
24
17
9
C R McGaughey III 48 23% 71% Great
34
10
4
Scott Tubbs 45 13% 27% Bad
12
13
20
Steven Chircop 44 16% 48% Good
21
13
10
Paul C Jones 43 14% 40% Avg
17
15
11
Mark A Hennig 42 7% 29% Bad
12
15
15
Jorge Luis Sanchez Jr 42 5% 21% Bad
9
8
25
Aaron Shorter 38 3% 26% Bad
10
13
15
Angel M Rodriguez 37 5% 35% Poor
13
13
11
Howard F Gibson 37 16% 35% Avg
13
14
10
Eoin G Harty 35 20% 46% Avg
16
7
12
Antonio C Garcia 31 16% 45% Avg
14
8
9
Berg Thomas L Van 30 13% 33% Bad
10
9
11
David John Williams 29 24% 59% Great
17
5
7
Ramiro Lopez Zuazo 20 15% 20% Poor
4
12
4
M L Pierce 19 21% 42% Great
8
8
3
Debbie Peery 16 25% 69% Great
11
3
2
S Jade Cunningham 16 25% 69% Great
11
2
3
Mike Chambers 15 13% 67% Great
10
4
1
Russell E Davis III 14 0% 29% Bad
4
3
7
Simon Callaghan 13 8% 54% Avg
7
2
4
Busanda C Armstrong 8 12% 25% Poor
2
4
2
Juan R Aguilar 7 14% 43% Good
3
3
1
Jacque Guerra 7 14% 57% Great
4
2
1
Charles Ray Celestine 6 0% 0% Bad
0
1
5
Terry J Brennan 6 0% 17% Bad
1
1
4
Philip A Oviedo 6 0% 17% Bad
1
3
2
Joseph Kanhai 3 33% 67%  - 
2
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.