Trainer Peter Miller has been fined $10,000 and suspended seven days by the Santa Anita Park stewards for violating the California Horse Racing Board's rule against program training. The ruling was made pursuant to a stipulated agreement and mutual release with the CHRB.
As previously reported, the CHRB filed a complaint earlier this week alleging that Miller 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 a related complaint, but a ruling was only posted against Miller on the CHRB site as of Saturday evening.
Miller announced last fall that he was taking a “temporary hiatus” from training for what he claimed was to spend “more time with my family, focus on overall health and wellness, and pursue other interests.” Speculation ensued that Miller was actually stepping away due to scrutiny he had received for a series of five catastrophic injuries among his horses in 2021. Miller denied such claims.
Former Miller trainees began running in Alvarado's name in early December, but the CHRB alleges 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 Ruben Alvarado” from Dec. 23, 2021 to Mar. 24, 2022.
Miller made his return as a listed trainer at Churchill Downs May 29, and has reportedly been gearing up for a return at the upcoming Los Alamitos and Del Mar meets in California.
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