Miller fined $5k for third medication violation in the past year

Trainer Peter Miller received a third medication violation in the last 365 days in California when Mr. Dougie Fresh tested positive for phenylbutazone following a workout on Sept. 13.

As a result, the Los Alamitos board of stewards fined Miller $5,000 and added a half-point to his record as part of California’s rules on multiple medication violations. Phenylbutazone, also known as “bute”, is a class 4, category C medication. Class 4-c violations typically are regulated therapeutic medications that are used in violation. In this case, the presence of bute in a workout violated California’s out-of-competition testing rules.

Previously, Miller was also disciplined for 4-c violations when Mo Forza tested positive for bute following a workout in June and when Hembree tested positive for Isoflupredone, also a 4-c medication, after winning at Santa Anita on Jan. 1.

Earlier this month, Miller announced he would be stepping away from training and his assistant, Ruben Alvarado, would take over the stable.