Halfway through Saratoga, which trainers are excelling?

With four weeks of racing at Saratoga in the books, we’re halfway through the extended 2019 summer meet. How time flies!

As we enter the fifth week of racing, now seems like the perfect time to review Statsmaster’s trainer statistics for the Saratoga meet and determine which trainers are excelling in certain conditions. Consider it a follow-up to our pre-meet story exploring trainers to watch and wager on at Saratoga.

After reviewing a variety of categories, here’s how the scene is shaping up.

• Who’s hot? Robertino Diodoro. Diodoro has saddled four winners from 11 starters, a 36% strike rate good for a +92% ROI. Danny Gargan (6-for-19, +16% ROI), Brad Cox (4-for-13, +20% ROI) and James H. Bond (5-for-20, +35% ROI) have also compiled admirable records.
• Chad Brown is running away in the training standings, with 18 victories from 88 starters, more than twice as many wins as any other trainer. But half of his winners were favorites and none started at 8-1 or higher, which means betting all of Brown’s runners to win has been a losing proposition (-34% ROI). It’s better to pick and choose your spots with Brown, and don’t be afraid to play his runners for second and third place—he’s had 43 additional runners finish in the money.
• Bill Mott was on fire during the first two weeks of the meet, at 7-for-22 (32%) with a +89% ROI. But Mott has since come back to earth, with a 1-for-18 record since July 27. We’ll have to see if his stable picks up again toward the end of the meet.
• Jeremiah Englehart is having a strong meet with his dirt runners, at 6-for-24 (25%) to lead all trainers on the main track. Danny Gargan has also been dangerous on dirt, at 5-for-13 (38%) with a +20% ROI.
• Englehart has also been live with juveniles and has a stellar 5-for-12 (42%) record with his youngsters. A +86% ROI is eye-catching, right? Mark Casse isn’t far behind, with three victories from nine juvenile starters for a +82% ROI.
• Todd Pletcher is having a relatively quiet meet, with just a 15% strike rate, but he’s been surprisingly effective with longshots. Pletcher runners starting at 8-1 or higher have gone 2-for-14 (14%), with five more finishing second or third to generate a 50% in-the-money rate. Betting them all to win would have yielded a +88% ROI.
• Linda Rice has brought some live claims to Saratoga, going 3-for-11 (27%, +76% ROI) with runners making their first start off a claim.  Gargan has an even higher win percentage in this category (2-for-3, 67%) but a lower ROI (+50%).