Which jockeys and trainers at Laurel Park 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 January 22, 2021.

JOCKEYS EN FUEGO

The four hottest riders on the grounds over the last seven weeks are clustered closely together, while well clear of the rest. Sheldon Russell and Horacio Karamanos are in a dead heat for first with 113 points, followed by Xavier Perez (106) and Charlie Marquez (103), who on Saturday earned his first stakes win.

Russell leads the local colony in wins, with 20, and win percentage (26.7%) in recent weeks. Marquez also has 20 wins, but in many more mounts than Russell; his strike rate is 16.5%.

Karamanos has 16 wins and a 20.5% strike rate, and his wagering ROI performance is what really moves him up. He’s +37% in recent weeks in ROI, the most of any rider with more than six wins. Alcibiades Cortez, with four wins, has a +94% ROI, the highest of any rider with more than one win.

The average for all riders at Laurel Park was 48.1.

TRAINERS EN FUEGO

Trainer John Salzman, Jr.’s small barn continues to fire, and as a result, he’s been the hottest trainer on the grounds the last seven weeks. Salzman’s score of 137 leaves him just ahead of Jerry Robb (133) and Claudio Gonzalez (127) on the leaderboard.

Salzman has won with six of 11 starters in the last seven weeks, with a gaudy +177% ROI. That leaves him just ahead of Robb (12 wins, 33% strike rate, and a +44% ROI). Gonzalez leads the track with 22 wins over the period and is winning at a 27.5% clip.

Brittany Russell and Rodney Jenkins, both of whom won stakes this past weekend, round out the top five. Russell has nine wins and a 39.1% strike rate; her ROI is -11%. Jenkins is 4-for-13 (30.8%) with a +158% ROI.

The average for all trainers at Laurel Park was 41.9 points.