Trainer Peter Miller spoke to the San Diego Union-Tribune ahead of this year's meeting at Del Mar, addressing rumors about his six-month hiatus which began last fall.
Miller had five horses from his stable die in the 11 months ahead of his hiatus, more than any other California trainer, drawing increased scrutiny. He was also sanctioned three times in 2021 for Class 4 medication violations in California, two of them for phenylbutazone overages after timed workouts. At the time of his hiatus, Miller denied that his actions were prompted by actions by or agreements with regulators or racetracks.
Scott Chaney, executive director of the California Horse Racing Board, said a CHRB investigation into those deaths cleared Miller of culpability.
Miller said the deaths were “just freak, random bad luck.”
“All the necropsies showed no negligence in my training of the horses,” Miller told the Union-Tribune.
Chaney also denied rumors that Miller was under increased scrutiny: “That's categorically false, coming from the CHRB standpoint.”
Following his return to training in late May, Miller was suspended seven days and fined $10,000 by CHRB stewards for violating the CHRB's rule prohibiting program training. Program training involves someone behind the scenes making key decisions for a stable while having someone else listed on the official program as the trainer of record.
Many of the horses in Miller's stable were transferred to his longtime assistant, Ruben Alvarado. A CHRB complaint filed on May 23, 2022, alleged that Miller “engaged in behavior consistent with the duties of a trainer at the San Luis Rey Training Center with horses in the barn of trainer Ruben Alvarado,” including “entering horses, conducting endoscopy exams, giving instruction to riders, examining horses, consulting with veterinarians, controlling and accessing bank accounts purported to belong to Ruben Alvarado Racing Stables, assigning jockeys, and creating training charts.”
Thus far in 2022, Miller has run 39 horses in his own name with four winners, nine seconds, and three thirds. All of his California runners have come at either Los Alamitos or Del Mar.
Meanwhile, Santa Anita general manager Nate Newby insists the track is utilizing “the normal review process for all trainers who submit stall apps,” with regards to Miller. When the Union-Tribune asked whether Miller would have been allowed to continue racing at Santa Anita at the time he stepped away, Newby said: “No decisions had been made on our end.”
Read more at the San Diego Union-Tribune.
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