By Dan Ross
Last month, trainer Peter Miller was fined $10,000 and suspended seven days by the Santa Anita Park stewards for violating the California Horse Racing Board's (CHRB) rules against program training.
The CHRB contended that Miller had remained involved in the daily training of horses after they had been turned over to and listed under the name of his former assistant, Ruben Alvarado.
Alvarado was named in the original complaint, but had avoided any formal sanctions until last Friday, when he was suspended 14 days by the Los Alamitos stewards for violating the CHRB's program training regulations between Dec. 23, 2021, and Mar. 24, 2022, at the San Luis Rey Training Center.
The suspension is pursuant to a stipulated agreement and mutual release with the CHRB and runs from July 1 through July 14 of this year.
“During the term of suspension, all licenses and license privileges of Ruben Alvarado are suspended and pursuant to California Horse Racing board rule #1528 (Jurisdiction of Stewards to Suspend or Fine), Ruben Alvarado is denied access to all premises in this jurisdiction,” the ruling states.
Separately on Friday, the Los Alamitos stewards issued Miller a $5,000 fine as an owner for an incident of “disorderly conduct” occurring on Feb. 14, 2022, at San Luis Rey Training Center.
The original complaint alleges that Miller used the word “fuck” multiple times in the presence of a regulatory veterinarian who had kept a Miller-owned horse on the vet's list after an official workout.
Reached by text Monday, Miller declined to comment.
Last 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 triggered speculation that Miller was stepping away due to regulatory scrutiny for having five horses die under his care during 2021 in California, four of them fatal musculoskeletal injuries.
Miller insisted that his decision to step away from the training ranks had nothing to do with any factors other than his feeling that he needed time away from the sport.
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