Charles Town: HOT JOCKS AND TRAINERS

Bourbon Calling
Bourbon Calling (#6) was just in time to win the Russell Road Stakes. Photo by Coady Photography.

Which jockeys and trainers at Charles Town Races have been hot? Funny you should ask: we wondered the same thing.

So we created a quick-and-dirty metric for the handicappers among us. The metric includes wins, win percentage, and wagering return on investment in one number. To limit it to who’s hot, we’ve included data from just the past 50 or so days — since February 5, 2021.

JOCKEYS EN FUEGO

It’s Boca’s world. Leading rider Arnaldo Bocachica also was far and away the hottest on the grounds during the past 50 days, registering a score of 171 that has him just about lapping the field.

Bocachica topped the colony in wins, with 48, and he’s leading the colony with a 39% strike rate. No other rider has won more than 20% of his or her starts. He also has a +13% wagering ROI, making him the only one of the top 13 riders by wins to be in positive territory in that metric.

The track’s ROI leader is Brandon Whitacre, who’s at +58%. Whitacre is 6-for-38 (15.8%) and ranks 11th in the colony with 49 points.

The rest of the top five — Fredy Peltroche, Denis Araujo, Gerald Almodovar, and Christian Hiraldo — also are the top five in wins, and all are winning with at least 18% of their starters. Peltroche, whose 19 wins are the most outside of Bocachica, has a -22% ROI that is better than the other four.

The average for all riders at CT was 51.6. Twenty-three riders won at least one race during the period to make the list.

RNKJOCKEYPTS
1Bocachica Arnaldo171
2Peltroche Fredy90
3Araujo Denis79
4Almodovar Gerald75
5Hiraldo Christian72

TRAINERS EN FUEGO

The usual suspects — Jeff Runco, Anthony Farrior, Ronney Brown — all continue to do well, but it’s James Dean Locklear who tops the hottest trainer list in the last several weeks. His score of 148 puts him narrowly ahead of Runco and Farrior, with Kevin Patterson and Brown rounding out the top five.

Locklear has won with five of 13 starters during the period — a 38% strike rate — and his wagering ROI really elevates him. Locklear’s ROI is +286%. His five winners include three that went off at 10-1 or higher.

Runco leads the colony with 24 wins, is winning at a 30% clip during the last seven weeks, and has a solid -7% ROI. Farrior’s 17 wins and gaudy 40% strike rate have him in third, narrowly behind the top pair.

Patterson and Brown both have positive ROIs — +8% and +5%, respectively — while Kevin Joy, who’s at +20%, has a score of 104, the only other trainer to top 100.

The average for all Charles Town trainers was 40 points. Eighty-seven trainers saddled at least one winner to make the list.

RNKTRAINERPTS
1Locklear James Dean148
2Runco Jeff C143
3Farrior Anthony139
4Patterson Kevin S124
5Brown Ronney W121

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