June, 2022 | Horse Racing Free Tips

CHRB Charges That Miller Was Actively Training During His Hiatus

The California Horse Racing Board (CHRB) has filed a complaint against trainer Peter Miller, alleging that he was involved in the daily training of horses after they had been turned over to and put under the name of his former assistant Ruben Alvarado.

Alvarado has also been charged in a separate complaint involving the same allegations.

In November, Miller announced that he was taking a “temporary hiatus” from training to spend “more time with my family, focus on overall health and wellness, and pursue other interests.” The announcement created speculation that Miller was stepping away because he had come under scrutiny for having five horses die under his care due to catastrophic injuries in 2021. But Miller insisted that his decision to stop training had nothing to do with any factors other than his feeling that he needed time away from the sport.

Miller made his last start in 2021 on Nov. 28. The majority of his stable was then placed under Alvarado's name and Alvarado made his debut as a head trainer Dec. 3.

The CHRB is now charging that Miller never fully stepped away. According to the complaint, between Dec. 23, 2021 and Mar. 24, 2022 Miller “engaged in behavior consistent with the duties of a trainer at the San Luis Rey Training Center with horses in the barn of Ruben Alvarado.” The CHRB has charged that Miller entered horses, conducted endoscopy exams, gave instructions to riders, examined horses, consulted with veterinarians, controlled and accessed bank accounts belonging to Alvarado Racing Stables, assigned jockeys and created training charts.

In the complaint issued against Alvarado, the CHRB wrote that Alvarado acknowledged that he was aware that Miller had continued to handle many of the training duties regarding the running of stable. It was also noted in the complaint that Alvarado did not set up a stable bank account independent of Miller, which was required per the Stewards's direction.

The complaint was issued May 23. Miller has been notified to appear before the stewards at Los Alamitos June 20. Alvarado's hearing in set for July 18 at Los Alamitos. Should the stewards rule that Alvarado and/or Miller did in fact conspire to allow Miller to train behind the scenes, it is not clear what the penalty might be. However, the complaint acknowledges that the stewards are empowered to impose a number of penalties, including a suspension of that person's license.

Miller did not respond to a text seeking comment Wednesday.

Last week, Miller entered a horse under his own name at Churchill Downs and said he was ready to return to training. The horse, Respect the Code (Honor Code), finished sixth in a May 29 allowance at Churchill. Miller said that Respect the Code was the only horse he had in Kentucky and that his main focus upon his comeback would be the upcoming Los Alamitos and Del Mar meets in California. 1/ST Racing has said little about Miller's status at Santa Anita. Alvarado has horses entered at Santa Anita on Friday and Saturday. Alvarado has compiled a record of 23 for 134 (17%) and won this year's GIII Las Cienegas S.

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Army Mule Filly Swiftest at OBS: ‘She’s Always Flying’

A filly from the first crop of Grade I winner Army Mule (hip 437) zipped a quarter-mile in :20 2/5–fastest of the week so far–during the third session of the Ocala Breeders' Sales Company's June 2-Year-Olds Sale under-tack show Wednesday in Central Florida. Consigned by Larry Mejias's appropriately named Fast Horses, the gray filly is out of the unraced Super Holiday (Super Saver) and from the family of graded winner Double Honor.

“I am really happy with that work,” Mejias said. “That filly had been working really fast at the farm. She's not too big, she's medium-sized, but she's always flying. I am very happy with the work.”

The Florida-bred filly, purchased for $19,000 at last year's OBS October sale, was entered in the OBS Spring sale where she worked in :9 4/5, but came up short on the gallop-out, according to Mejias. She RNA'd for $95,000 in April.

“I entered her [in April] because she's fast, but you need a good gallop out,” Mejias said. “There is a difference if you work in :10 flat and you gallop out in :34 and change, people don't like that.”

Of the filly's gallop-out Wednesday, Mejias said “She worked good–:20 2/5 and then :31 3/5 and :44 4/5. I think it was the best gallop-out of the day.”

Mejias continued, “I want to train the horses the best I can. Some people like :10 flat, some people like :9 4/5, but in my opinion some horses work in :10 2/5 and do a great gallop-out and that's different than when you work in :10 and the gallop-out is no good. There is a difference when you come into an OBS sale and you can do what people like best, :10 flat or :9 4/5, but some horses work in :10 2/5 and do a good gallop out. There is a difference from when you train a horse for racing and from when you are training for pinhooking. For pinhooking, they have to go fast, but you also have to train the horse to race. That's my opinion.”

Mejias's Barn 15 at OBS is just across from the Golden Rock Thoroughbreds consignment of his nephew Keiber Rengifo.

“I started my Fast Horses consignment last year,” Mejias said. “I had been selling with my nephew Keiber's Golden Rock. I sold all of my horses with him. But Keiber had so many horses, so I started my own consignment and I've been doing great so far. Last year, I had 10 or 11 horses for myself and I sold them all.”

Also during Wednesday's session of the under-tack show, a filly by Flatter (hip 560) became the first of the week to shade :10 seconds when she worked in :9 4/5 for Julie Davies. The gray 2-year-old is out of the unraced Wicked Ride (Candy Ride {Arg}), a half-sister to Grade I winner Wickedly Perfect (Congrats).

Davies purchased the filly for $95,000 at last year's Keeneland September sale.

The under-tack show continues through Saturday with sessions beginning at 7:30 a.m. daily. The June sale will be held next Tuesday through Thursday. Bidding begins each day at 10 a.m.

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Bloodlines: Lester Piggott’s Influence In The Bloodstock Sphere

The legendary jockey Lester Piggott, who died in Switzerland on May 29, exerted an unexpected influence on breeding due to his mastery of the craft of race riding, and its components of pace, balance, and timing.

The Long Fellow's mindfulness in the saddle allowed him to maintain his composure under pressure, and those qualities were of special value in the most prestigious races, such as the Derby Stakes, and the Derby's importance to the Thoroughbred is paramount. The great breeder and trainer Federico Tesio famously remarked that the winning post of the Derby had exerted greater influence on the breed than any other single factor.

Piggott rode nine winners of the Epsom classic, beginning in 1954 as an 18-year-old with Never Say Die (by Nasrullah), and that fact alone is an indicator of the importance of this rider to the development of modern breeding.

The Maestro's subsequent winners of the Derby were Crepello (Donatello) 1957 (in which year he also won the Oaks with the Queen's Carrozza), St Paddy (Aureole) 1960, Sir Ivor (Sir Gaylord) 1968, Nijinsky (Northern Dancer) 1970, Roberto (Hail to Reason) 1972, Empery (Vaguely Noble) 1976, The Minstrel (Northern Dancer) 1977, and Teenoso (Youth) 1983. Piggott retired for the first time in 1985, and yet his influence on the breed has lived on through the accomplishments of many of those classic winners at stud.

In particular, Piggott was effective at evaluating a horse's turn of foot and knowing when to ask for it to get the most effect in a race. This is especially important at Epsom, with its gradients and turns, and the rising ground to the finish has found the bottom of more than one doubtful stayer. So a rider who understands the course and who understands the horse he is riding is a serious asset in the quest for classics. This made Piggott the most sought-after jockey in racing.

Once the young riding star had proven his talents in the classics of the 1950s, Piggott was able to pick and choose from the prospects for the race, and he was known to accept rides on horses from differing stables and then to ride them in the classic preps with as much interest in evaluating their capacity to cope with Epsom as with winning the race at hand. This practice was not always popular with owners, trainers, or punters.

As a regular rider for the stable of the great trainer Vincent O'Brien, Piggott rode the first two Derby winners by the 1964 Kentucky Derby winner Northern Dancer (Nijinsky and The Minstrel), and it is famously reported that, after Piggott's split with that elite outfit, their hot favorite El Gran Senor (Northern Dancer) had just finished a close second to Secreto (Northern Dancer) in the 1984 Derby, and Piggott walked through the unsaddling area on his way to the jockey's room and remarked archly, “Missing me yet?”

In addition to helping showcase the importance of Northern Dancer and his adaptability to the European racing environment, Piggott was a great evaluator of a horse's ability. He said of the only English Triple Crown winner from 1935 to the present that “Nijinsky was one of those horses you could win on really easily yet – and this is hard to understand – he never felt as good to ride as he actually was.”

Sent to stud at Claiborne Farm in Kentucky, Nijinsky became the first great stallion son of his famous sire and an immense influence on the classics, both in Europe and the States. Nijinsky sired three winners of the Derby (Golden Fleece 1982, Shahrastani 1986, and Lammtarra 1995); and two grandsons of Nijinsky – Kahyasi (Ile de Bourbon) 1988 and Generous (Caerleon) 1991 – won the Epsom classic during this period.

Although many of the sons and daughters of Nijinsky were sent to race in Europe, the stallion's foals were just as effective in the U.S., and Ferdinand won the 1986 Kentucky Derby, as well as the 1987 Breeders' Cup Classic, and was named Horse of the Year that season, as well.

Prior to the 1970 Derby, there had been no shortage of speculation that the 12 furlongs would find out the stamina of Nijinsky. He was, after all, by that small American stallion who hadn't stayed the distance in the 1964 Belmont Stakes. As the classic and subsequent racing proven beyond question, Nijinsky himself was eminently suited to the full classic distance.

In that race, Piggott rode the bay son of Northern Dancer and Flaming Page for speed, which he showed with a flair up the rising ground to the winning post at Epsom, then again in subsequent starts at the Curragh and Ascot. Piggott rode Northern Dancer's second Derby winner, The Minstrel in 1977, who needed a strong rider to get the most out of him over the full classic distance, but that is what his jockey supplied.

In Piggott's Derby victories immediately prior to the one with The Minstrel and the rider's final success in 1983, both Empery and Teenoso were colts who needed to make the classic as strong a test of stamina as possible because they possessed strength and stamina far in excess of acceleration. Realizing their needs, Piggott controlled the pace and the race, bringing them home victorious. Piggott could not make either of them a good sire – they were both lamentable – but his tactical understanding and ability to adapt to what the horse required gave them as much opportunity as they could hope for.

Adaptability and presence of mind made Piggott a masterful competitor for the classics, and he won more of them than any rider in history, even though “it's easier to lose a race than to win 'em, y'know.”

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Laurel’s Summer Meet To Offer 14 Stakes Worth $1.3 Million

The Maryland Jockey Club will offer a total of 14 stakes worth $1.3 million in purses, highlighted by the 31st running of the $150,000 Frank J. De Francis Memorial Dash July 16, during Laurel Park's 37-day summer meet which opens Friday and runs through Sunday, Aug. 21.

Racing will be conducted Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays during the summer meet, with a post time of 12:40 p.m. There will be a special Independence Day holiday program Monday, July 4.

Stakes action begins at Laurel with a June 19 Father's Day lineup of three races scheduled for its world-class turf course – the $100,000 Stormy Blues for 3-year-old fillies sprinting five furlongs, $75,000 Find for 3-year-olds and up and $75,000 All Brandy for fillies and mares 3 and older, both restricted to Maryland-bred/sired horses and going 1 1/16 miles.

Every other Saturday in July will feature stakes races, starting July 2 with the $100,000 Caesar's Wish for fillies and mares 3 and up at one mile and $100,000 Concern for 3-year-olds sprinting seven furlongs.

The six-furlong De Francis for 3-year-olds and up was moved from its traditional spot on Laurel's fall calendar to mid-July. Named for the late president and chairman of both Laurel and historic Pimlico Race Course, the De Francis' illustrious roster of winners includes Hall of Famer Housebuster, fellow sprint champions Cherokee Run, Smoke Glacken, Thor's Echo and Benny the Bull, and Lite the Fuse, the race's only two-time winner (1995-96).

Joining the De Francis on the July 16 program are the $100,000 Alma North going 6 ½ furlongs and $100,000 Big Dreyfus, scheduled for 1 1/8 miles on the turf, both for fillies and mares 3 and up; and the $100,000 Prince George's County at 1 1/8 miles on grass for 3-year-olds and up. All four races are part of the Mid-Atlantic Thoroughbred Championship (MATCH) Series.

Laurel wraps up its summer stakes schedule July 30 with five races worth $400,000 led by the $100,000 Deputed Testamony for 3-year-olds and up going 1 1/8 miles. It is joined by four $75,000 races restricted to Maryland-bred/sired horses – the Star de Naskra for 3-year-olds and Miss Disco for 3-year-old fillies, each sprinting seven furlongs on dirt, and a pair of 5 ½-furlong turf dashes, the Ben's Cat for 3-year-olds and up and Jameela for fillies and mares 3 and older.

Friday's nine-race opening day card is kicked off by a 4 ½-furlong maiden special weight for 2-year-olds where Pompous Prince, by Palace, is the narrow 5-2 program favorite in a field of seven off a third after setting the pace in a similar spot May 1 at Laurel. California Ghost, a son of two-time Horse of the Year California Chrome, is the only other horse with a prior start, having finished fifth but placed fourth in a two-furlong maiden special weight May 23 at Parx.

The feature comes in Race 8, a 5 ½-furlong allowance event on the main track for fillies and mares that drew a field of seven including Belladora and Wicked Hot. Belladora, a 4-year-old daughter of Shackleford, returns off a 10-month layoff for trainer Michael Trombetta. The 4-year-old Wicked Hot, by Mosler, returns for Graham Motion off a year layoff after winning two of her first three starts. The field also includes Miss Marley, making her second start off a layoff for Michael Matz, and Long Distance Love, going out first off the claim for Claudio Gonzalez.

Four races are scheduled for the turf on Friday drawing a total of 48 entries, an average of 12 starters per race.

Ten races are on tap for Saturday including five races scheduled for the grass that attracted 54 entries, an average of 10.8 per race. Among them are an entry-level allowance for 3-year-olds and up going a mile in Race 6 featuring Consultant, a nine-length maiden winner April 30 at Laurel, and Cosmicality, whose breeder, Angie Moore, also bred 2021 Horse of the Year Knicks Go; and Race 8, an optional claiming allowance for fillies and mares 3 and up sprinting 5 ½ furlongs led by turf stakes winners Epic Idea, Ellanation and Cavalier Cupid.

Race 7 Saturday is a third-level optional claiming allowance for 3-year-olds and up going 1 1/16 miles featuring stakes winner Tappin Cat, second by a neck in the 2021 Maryland Million Classic, and stakes-placed Plot the Dots, Gentleman Joe and Workin On a Dream, the latter fourth in the May 20 Pimlico Special (G3). Race 9 is a one-mile allowance for 3-year-olds and up that includes 2021 Maryland Million Nursery winner Buff Hello and nine-time career winner Krachenwagen.

Jevian Toledo, the state's three-time leading rider including 2021, has won two of the three meets in Maryland this year, taking Laurel's winter stand as well as the recently concluded Preakness Meet at Pimlico. He was second by one win to 18-year-old apprentice Jeiron Barbosa at Laurel's spring meet. Toledo is named in two races Friday and six races Saturday at Laurel.

Trainer Brittany Russell followed Laurel spring, her first career meet championship, by sharing the Preakness Meet crown with Richard Sillaman and becoming the first female to win more than one meet title in Maryland. Karen Patty (1992 Pimlico spring), Mary Eppler (2016 Laurel fall) and Linda Rice (2017 Laurel winter) had previously won or shared leading trainer honors.

Neither Russell nor Sillaman has a horse in Friday at Laurel. Russell is entered in two races and Sillaman one on Saturday.

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