One of the great things about horse racing as a pari-mutuel game is it is not the most well-known who that can make you the most money.

Take it from someone who loved betting Unique Bella at 1-5. It is fun to root your favorites home, but favorites do not make you rich.

Enter trainer John Haran, a 62-year-old hardboot who plied his trade this year in Arkansas, Illinois and Indiana and was the bettors’ best friend this year as the conditioner with the top return on investment among the 216 trainers with at least 225 starts in 2024 through Dec. 17.

Not only did Haran rank on top of that list but also he is the only trainer with at least 400 starts who has a positive ROI. Haran saddled the winners of 52 races from 469 starts, a modest 11% strike rate to be sure, but those winners were good for a +11.5% Horse Racing Nation Impact score and a 24.2% flat-bet profit. HRN Impact measures actual wins against expected wins based on win odds. ROI measures return on win bets of all starters.

Two of Haran’s five biggest-priced winners this year came in stakes races. Reflex paid $119.80 when winning the Sagamore Sired Handicap in May at Horseshoe Indianapolis, and American Band was 27.5-1 when she won the Matron Stakes in March at Oaklawn. He had two other winners this year at Oaklawn pay more than $100, leading to a 104% ROI in Hot Springs. That’s right, if you had bet Haran in every start this year Oaklawn, then you would have more than doubled your money.

Here are honorable mentions based on certain categories.

46 trainers conditioned at least 100 favorites this year, and Doug O’Neill was much the best among those, winning 50.4% for a +33% HRN Impact and 16.1% ROI.

63 trainers started at least 100 horses on turf, and George Papaprodromu notched a 10.7% ROI from his 206 starters on the lawn to lead all trainers. He was one of only 22 trainers with at least 22 starters. The only other one of that group with a positive ROI is Saffie Joseph Jr. 

For synthetic trainers, it is Josie Carroll providing bettors with great returns. She is one of 18 trainers with at least 150 synthetic starts this year, and her 19.3% strike rate helped net a 21.8% ROI.

No surprise that Haran would lead all trainers of horses with double-digit odds, but a bigger name deserves some love here. Ken McPeek is one of 16 trainers with at least 195 starters at 10-1 or higher and the only one of two, along with Haran with a positive ROI, at 14.2%.