The numbers this season are striking. Skelton has sent out 198 winners from 1,085 runners — that is roughly 1 in every 5 races, an 18% win rate across a huge volume of horses. That combination matters: plenty of trainers win a high percentage of their races by simply entering very few horses. Skelton is winning at that rate while running over a thousand times. But the last two weeks have been something else entirely — 11 winners from just 26 runners, a 42% hit rate that is more than double his already impressive seasonal average. The yard is clearly in flying form right now.
Three top-level wins in recent weeks underline that point. A Class 1 victory at Musselburgh in January, another at Haydock in February, and a third at Cheltenham in March — one of the toughest tracks in the country — show a trainer who performs when the races matter most. Class 1 and 2 races are the elite end of the sport, where the best horses meet. Winning 81 of them in just four years is a remarkable achievement.
On fast, dry ground, Skelton's record sharpens further — 5 wins from 12 runners on those conditions, that same 42% figure. And at Newcastle specifically, his horses have won 5 times from just 11 runners, which suggests either a sharp eye for placing the right horse in the right race, or simply that his horses travel there ready to win. Probably both.
The most important relationship in the yard is with jockey Harry Skelton — his brother. Together they have produced 130 winners from 547 races, winning nearly 1 in every 4 times they combine. That kind of long-term partnership builds understanding that is very hard to manufacture. When Dan saddles a horse and Harry rides it, the market pays attention — and so should everyone else.
| Course | Races | Wins | Win rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cheltenham | 86 | 15 | 17.4% |
| Warwick | 76 | 15 | 19.7% |
| Uttoxeter | 65 | 9 | 13.8% |
| Chepstow | 56 | 7 | 12.5% |
| Aintree | 52 | 10 | 19.2% |
| Newbury | 48 | 5 | 10.4% |
| Worcester | 46 | 7 | 15.2% |
| Haydock Park | 43 | 13 | 30.2% |
| Huntingdon | 39 | 11 | 28.2% |
| Kempton Park | 38 | 4 | 10.5% |
| Market Rasen | 35 | 1 | 2.9% |
| Newton Abbot | 34 | 12 | 35.3% |
| Sandown Park | 34 | 4 | 11.8% |
| Bangor-on-Dee | 33 | 5 | 15.2% |
| Ascot | 33 | 2 | 6.1% |
| Wetherby | 30 | 5 | 16.7% |
| Ludlow | 28 | 3 | 10.7% |
| Plumpton | 28 | 2 | 7.1% |
| Doncaster | 25 | 4 | 16% |
| Southwell | 25 | 4 | 16% |
| Stratford-on-Avon | 24 | 5 | 20.8% |
| Fontwell Park | 23 | 3 | 13.0% |
| Exeter | 20 | 6 | 30% |
| Kelso | 19 | 5 | 26.3% |
| Windsor | 18 | 5 | 27.8% |
| Fakenham | 14 | 5 | 35.7% |
| Wincanton | 14 | 1 | 7.1% |
| Leicester | 13 | 5 | 38.5% |
| Newcastle | 11 | 5 | 45.5% |
| Carlisle | 10 | 4 | 40% |
| hereford | 9 | 2 | 22.2% |
| Sedgefield | 8 | 2 | 25% |
| Lingfield Park | 8 | 2 | 25% |
| Ayr | 8 | 1 | 12.5% |
| Ffos Las | 7 | 1 | 14.3% |
| Taunton | 5 | 1 | 20% |
| Perth | 4 | 2 | 50% |
| Cartmel | 4 | 2 | 50% |
| Catterick Bridge | 3 | 1 | 33.3% |
| Musselburgh | 3 | 1 | 33.3% |
| Hexham | 2 | 1 | 50% |
| Pontefract | 2 | 0 | 0% |
| Chester | 1 | 0 | 0% |
| Nottingham | 1 | 0 | 0% |