Top trainers are top trainers because they win races. They win a lot of them, and they win the richest races, racking up victories and total earnings at a high rate. On average, the best trainers can be expected to win about 20 percent to 25 percent of the races they enter, but often they get overbet, especially in relation to their relative success previously in certain types of races. Other times, their runners are comparatively overlooked, providing great value and opportunities to make money. DRF Formulator gives you full access to all of a trainer’s runners over the past five years, allowing you to analyze patterns and unearth angles that have paid very well. Let’s use Formulator take a look at a few of the best trainers, with an eye on when you should look to bet them and when you should pass. Below are a few of our favorites, but we encourage you to use Formulator to find your own. Todd Pletcher: He currently sits at the top of the trainer standings in terms of money earned, with more than $21 million in 2014, which is nearly 50 percent more than his closest rival, Chad Brown. He also is firing at a 24 percent win rate with all starters in 2014, meaning his horses are live in nearly every spot. So when do you bet and when do you skip? • Bet This: Pletcher in dirt Grade 1 races without his top jockeys. Everyone knows that Pletcher’s go-to jockeys are John Velazquez and Javier Castellano. Those two guys have combined to 37 Grade 1 races for Pletcher over the past five years (201-37-29-27, $1.11 ROI). But sometimes those jockeys are not able to travel to ride for him, or occasionally he just has more than two horses entered in the same field. In those cases, BET THE ONES WITH THE OTHER JOCKEYS. Over the past two years, Pletcher is 41-8-5-3 with a whopping $7.06 ROI (that’s a more than 250 percent profit) in Grade 1 stakes on dirt with jockeys other than Velazquez or Castellano. Four of those nine winners popped at double-digit odds, including Palace Malice in the 2013 Belmont at 13-1, Capo Bastone in the 2013 King’s Bishop at 28-1, Princess of Sylmar in the 2013 Kentucky Oaks at 38-1, and Danza in the 2014 Arkansas Derby at 41-1. • Not That: Pletcher on turf in Grade 1 races. Over the past five years, Pletcher is 50-1-2-8 with a $0.13 ROI for each $2 win bet. That lone winner was Turbo Compressor in the 2012 running of the United Nations at Monmouth at odds of 5-2, and he hasn’t even had a starter finish in the exacta in a top-level North American turf race since, going 31-0-0-4. Chad Brown: A former assistant to Hall of Fame trainer Bobby Frankel, Brown, 36, has been a top trainer since going out on his own in 2007. In 2014, Brown has won 16 graded stakes, including three Breeders’ Cup races, and is winning races with all of his starters at a 26 percent rate. • Bet This: Brown in turf routes with juvenile first-time starters in maiden special weights. Over the past two years, Brown is 40-12-6-4 with $4.23 ROI in those races. That’s a 30 percent win rate and more than 100 percent profit. And in case you think the days of getting a price on one of these types is past, it’s worth noting that 2-year-old debuter Takeover Target won at odds of 16-1 going long on grass just last month. • Not That: Brown on dirt in Grade 1 races. Chad Brown is like the anti-Pletcher, a top trainer who excels in top-level turf races but flops in those types of races on dirt. Over the past five years, Brown is 33-1-3-3 with a $0.15 ROI in Grade 1 stakes on dirt. That lone winner was Awesome Feather nearly three years ago in the 2011 running of the Gazelle Stakes at odds of 3-2. Bob Baffert: The silver fox is perennially at the top of the trainer standings, and 2014 is no different, with more than $13 million in total earning and a 23 percent win rate in all races. His horses also can get bet very heavily, though, especially in Southern California. Over the past year, one-third of all Baffert’s starters went off as the post-time favorite and nearly 12 percent were odds-on favorites, which is even more remarkable when you consider Baffert’s proclivity for entering more than one horse in the same race. • Bet This: Baffert on dirt following a long layoff. The conventional wisdom with horses returning from layoffs of 180 days or more is to give them a start. “Something likely went wrong, so I’ll just watch the first start and let them shake off the rust,” goes the logic. It’s generally sensible logic, but it doesn’t work with Baffert. He brings them back ready to run, going 98-36-23-10 with a $3.04 ROI over the past five years with runners on dirt following a 180-day-plus layoff. Seemingly, the longer the layoff, the better he does, as he’s 9 for 18 with runners returning on dirt after layoffs of one year or more. • Not That: Baffert down the hill at Santa Anita. In general, Baffert is a bad bet on turf, but in downhill sprints at Santa Anita, he’s downright atrocious. Over the past five years, he’s 44-1-5-6 with a measly $0.08 ROI. That means if you had bet $2 to win on each of those 44 starters, you’d have pocketed all of $3.80. Worse yet, that lone win came in February 2010, nearly five years ago, so that means Baffert is currently riding a 37-start losing streak in turf sprints at Santa Anita. Steve Asmussen: The most prolific trainer in North America in terms of runners, Asmussen regularly tops 1,500 starts and even topped 3,000 starts in 2008. He wins his share of races, too, notching at least 20 percent winners in every year during the Y2K era. Unlike some trainers mentioned, he doesn’t seem to excel with turf or dirt runners. So where are the opportunities to bet and the pitfalls to avoid? • Bet This: Asmussen on dirt with juvenile second-time starters in maiden special weights. Maybe they just need a race, but Asmussen is 73-19-8-14 with a $3.15 ROI over the past two years in maiden special weights on dirt with juveniles making their second career start. And if the failed debut came on turf, so much the better. He's 15-7-1-1 with a $5.38 ROI over the past five years going turf to dirt with juveniles in their second career start. • Not That: Asmussen on turf with juvenile first-time starters in maiden special weights. His last 2-year-old debut winner on turf in a maiden special weight came at Remington Park in October 2011, so Asmussen is 27-0-2-4 in those races with debuters over the past three years. Three of those starters went off as the post-time favorite; all three failed to hit the board. Graham Motion: He’s currently enjoying the best year of his career, as his 18 graded stakes wins in 2014 currently rank him third behind only Pletcher and Baffert, and he’s topped $10 million in total earning for the first time. • Bet This: Motion in turf marathons. Over the past five years, he’s 70-19-9-6 with a $3.77 ROI in turf races of 12 furlongs and longer. The higher the class, the better he does: 27-9-3-1 with a $6.99 ROI in marathon graded stakes on turf. • Not That: Motion in dirt sprints with last-out winners. For a trainer that fires at a 20 percent win rate with all last-out winners over the past five years, Motion is notably weak in dirt sprints with those types. He’s 52-3-5-7 in that time with last-out winners in dirt sprints, and all three of those winners were coming off a maiden victory. That means he’s 15-0-2-0 over the past five years in dirt sprints with runners coming off a win that was not a maiden victory. Jimmy Jerkens: As the son of Hall of Fame trainer Allen “The Chief” Jerkens, Jimmy Jerkens has the pedigree of a top conditioner. Jimmy went to work for his father after high school and went out on his own as a trainer in 1997, winning at greater than a 20 percent rate for his career.  After some lean times in 2011-13, he’s bounced back strongly in 2014, enjoying his best year ever, with more than $4 million in total earnings and a flat bet ROI of more than $3 on all of his horses for the year. • Bet This: Jerkens going sprint to route on dirt. Jerkens is a strong dirt trainer (20 percent win rate and positive ROI in all dirt races over the past five years), and he’s even better in dirt routes (23 percent and nearly $3 ROI). But when he stretches horses from sprints to routes on dirt, take note; he’s an incredible 51-17-10-3 with a $4.29 ROI over the past five years with that angle, including $18 winner Classic Point in the Go for Wand at Aqueduct last Friday. • Not That: Jerkens in turf sprints. Considering Jerkens’s strong numbers in dirt routes, you might guess that the flip side to that coin is weak, and you’d be right. Over the past five years, he’s 42-5-2-3 with a $0.95 ROI in turf sprints. It’s also worth noting that his dirt sprint-to-route success does not carry over to turf, as he’s 21-2-1-2 with a $1.33 ROI going sprint to route on turf over the past five years. These are just a few examples of great bets to target as well as ones to avoid. Every day, at every track, you will find many examples of these kinds of great (or awful) opportunities. DRF Formulator gives you the keys to find these angles, and it could very well lead you to a winner that is overlooked by much of the betting public. 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