Trainer Peter Miller, currently tied for first in wins in the Santa Anita Park standings, has been summoned to a hearing with the track's stewards to answer a California Horse Racing Board (CHRB) complaint for a Class 4, Penalty Category C drug violation after isoflupredone was confirmed via split-sample testing his trainee, Hembree (Proud Citizen), when the 7-year-old won the GII Joe Hernandez S. at 5-1 odds Jan. 1.
Isoflupredone is an injectable steroid primarily administered for anti-inflammatory effects. The drug's 4C categorization is on the less-severe side of the scale of the Uniform Classification Guidelines for Foreign Substances list published by the Association of Racing Commissioners International.
According to the CHRB rule book, a trainer's first violation within a 365-day period for a Category C drug violation can result in a minimum fine of $500 to a maximum fine of $1,000 (absent mitigating circumstances).
In April 2017, Miller was previously fined $1,000 by the CHRB for an isoflupredone overage.
Hembree, owned by Tom Kagele, subsequently raced Feb. 6 when fifth in the GIII Thunder Road S. at Santa Anita.
No date for the hearing was entered on the Mar. 11 complaint, which was digitally signed by the CHRB's equine medical director, Rick Arthur, DVM.
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