Because of the effects of the Lilac Fire ( see below ) , Miller 's stable had a slow start in 2018 but gradually recovered , winning the Del Mar training title that summer . Both Stormy Liberal and Roy H repeated at the 2018 Breeders ' Cup held at Churchill Downs in November , becoming the first two horses trained by the same trainer to repeat . " It 's still a little hard to believe , " said Miller . " To do something that 's never been done , especially in this business , considering the hundreds of thousands of races that are run each year around the world , it 's amazing and a real testament not only to the horses but to our whole team . " Miller earned his 1,000 th career win on November 16 , 2018 with Haydens Havoc in a turf sprint at Del Mar , his home racetrack . " We live in Encinitas , so to win it here , with my family here , is very special , " he said . " I want to thank Gary Hartunian and Gary Barber , because the majority of the thousand are owned by those two guys . I could n't do it without them . " Miller bases many of his horses at San Luis Rey Downs , a training center a few miles from his home in Encinatas . On the morning of December 7 , Miller was at the center and noticed some smoke from the Lilac Fire about 20 miles away . Before leaving , he alerted his staff and van company but there seemed no immediate danger . That evening however , the winds unexpectedly shifted and some of the trees on the perimeter of the property were hit by embers , rapidly igniting . The fire quickly spread across the facility . Road closures prevented most vans from getting into the facility to transport the horses away . Unable to evacuate them in time , his grooms released about seventy of his horses , but five died
Lilac Fire
Lilac Fire
Peter Miller (trainer)