Coach Peter Miller was fined $5,000 and given a half (1/2) point rating under the California Horse Racing Board’s (CHRB) repeated drug violation rule due to Mr. Dougie Fresh’s fault (Ghostzapper) tested positive for phenylbutazone after working at the San Luis Rey Downs on September 13, according to the Los Alamitos board of directors that ruled Sunday.
Phenylbutazone – commonly known as “bute” – is a Class 4, Class C drug. This constitutes Miller’s third Class 4 drug violation in California in 365 days.
On September 2, Miller was fined $1,500 and given a half-point rating under the CHRB’s multiple drug violation rule as a result of Mo Forza (Uncle Mo) tested positive for phenylbutazone after working at San Luis Rey Downs on June 19, 2021.
Mo Forza then won a double in the GII races at Del Mar and Santa Anita – the Del Mar Mile S. and City of Hope Mile S.
On April 10, Miller was fined $500 after Hembree (Pride Citizen) tested positive for Isoflupredone, a drug prescribed a 4C penalty, after winning the race in his fifth race. Saturday at Santa Anita Park on January 1.
When asked about three Class 4 drug violations this year, Miller pointed out that California recently introduced competing drug regulations.
“Two of the violations were during morning exercise, which would not be violations in any other state in the country,” he wrote.
Last month, Miller announced that he was joining training interruption, to spend “more time with his family, focusing on his overall health and wellness, while pursuing other interests”.
The hiatus, according to a press release starting November 29, is expected to leave the day-to-day operation of the barn to his assistant, Ruben Alvarado. Miller, however, will still maintain an advisory position alongside his owner role, the statement said.
According to Equibase, Miller has no horses entered under his name. However, he did ask Manhattan Up (Into Mischief) out of the Robertino Diodoro warehouse for $50,000 in Oaklawn Park on Sunday. Miller is listed as the new coach.
Over the past three years — and due to the 2019 Santa Anita welfare crisis — the state’s regulator has markedly tightened regulations around horse safety, placing emphasis on the role of responsibility of the horse. trainer.
As a result, speculation has been brewing for some time that Miller has been the target of closer regulatory scrutiny due to the five horses in his care suffering serious injuries in 2021 – the number highest of any single coach in California this year.
Miller addressed those rumors in a press release, saying his decision was not triggered by any outside legal pressure.
According to Oaklawn’s statement, Miller wrote in his text, “We are sending a chain to Arkansas but will be running under an assistant.”
Miller also addressed via text the equine fatalities he suffered over a 12-month period. He writes that the deaths are “100% inevitable”, including three horses with catastrophic shoulder injuries following layoffs. These specific lesions are often difficult to diagnose.
“Perfect sounding horses and my first and only heart attack in 35 years of training,” he wrote, pointing to Rustic Canyon, a 6-year-old boy who died suddenly. due to a heart attack during training at San Luis Rey on February 26.
