The temporary shift of the Preakness Stakes weekend programme from historic Pimlico Race Course to Laurel Park may feel unfamiliar to many racing followers, but for Maryland-based trainer Graham Motion, the surroundings are anything but new.
Motion, whose stable operates from the Fair Hill Training Center in Elkton, plans to send a sizeable team to Laurel across the feature-filled weekend, including one of the leading contenders for Saturday’s $150,000 Gallorette Stakes (G3).
Gallorette Stakes 2026
The 1 1/16-mile turf contest for fillies and mares has drawn an accomplished field of eight, headed by Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners’ Warming, a four-year-old filly already proven at graded level. Hall of Fame rider John Velazquez has been booked for the mount.
Warming enters the Gallorette with the strongest résumé in the field after capturing the Autumn Miss Stakes (G3) at Santa Anita last autumn. Since that success, Motion experimented with dirt and synthetic surfaces, including recent outings at Gulfstream Park and Turfway Park, though the trainer believes a return to turf could bring improvement.
“I don’t think she’s quite as good on the synthetic as she is on grass,” Motion said. “I really freshened her up for this spot. She’s in good form, so hopefully freshening her up has done her some good.”
Motion will also saddle Ribaltagaia for Frasseto Stables. The mare returned from an eight-month absence to finish third in the Dahlia Stakes at Laurel in March, a performance her trainer felt would bring her forward considerably.
“She started her career in Europe,” Motion said. “She ran very well in the Dahlia and probably got a little tired off a break.”
Multiple champion trainer Chad Brown is represented by two runners as he seeks a seventh victory in the Gallorette. Accent, owned by Jeffrey Drown, and Child of the Moon, racing for Madaket Stables LLC, Michael Dubb and Louis Lazzinnaro LLC, both arrive with solid credentials.
Child of the Moon has already earned more than $219,000 through three career victories, while the lightly raced Accent steps into graded company for the first time after winning three of her opening four starts.
Another familiar face returning to the race is Austere, who finished runner-up in last year’s Gallorette. The five-year-old mare is trained by Brendan Walsh for a partnership that includes Belmar Racing and Breeding LLC and Bradley Thoroughbreds.
Trainer Whit Beckman will saddle Cheetah Lady, who seeks a breakthrough stakes success after finishing second in the Pago Hop Stakes at Fair Grounds.
“We thought this was a good opportunity,” Beckman said. “We want to run some horses there, and she’s one that fits.”
Beckman added that further black-type success would significantly boost the filly’s future broodmare value.
Additional contenders include Mahra’s Love for Maryland trainer Michelle Nihei and Awesome Czech, the durable New York-bred mare trained by Horacio De Paz. Awesome Czech has accumulated more than $630,000 in career earnings and now steps into graded company for the first time.
With proven graded performers, improving turf mares and several accomplished stables represented, the 2026 Gallorette Stakes shapes as one of the standout supporting races on the Laurel Park Preakness weekend programme.
For more stories, results, and updates from the world of horse racing, stay tuned to racebuzz












