BALTIMORE – Graham Motion has had a few things to do this week. Making raceday accommodations for family and friends. Dodging the raindrops that keep falling at his Fair Hill training base. Saying the right things to the media. And, oh yes, getting a colt named Animal Kingdom ready for the 136th Preakness at Pimlico.

PREAKNESS STAKES 2011: Contender profiles, news updates, video, and odds >>

Toby’s Corner, upset winner of the Wood Memorial who was forced to miss the Kentucky Derby due to lameness in his right hind leg, was to begin walking under tack on Thursday at trainer Graham Motion’s barn at the Fair Hill Training Center.

Toby’s Corner underwent a nuclear bone scan on Tuesday at the New Bolton Equine Clinic and the results did not show any structural damage. Motion said Dr. Dean Richardson gave him the green light to begin putting the tack on the colt, who was to ship back to Fair Hill on Wednesday afternoon.

BALTIMORE – It was the biggest win of his training career, but at the time trainer Tom Albertrani couldn’t truly enjoy it.

When Bernardini roared to a 5 1/4-length victory in the 2006 Preakness Stakes, the performance was overshadowed by the shocking breakdown of Kentucky Derby winner Barbaro, who had been pulled up by jockey Edgar Prado as the field passed the finish line the first time with an injury to his right hind leg.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – When Silver Rock and Let’s Do It were entered in an entry-level allowance on turf at Keeneland on April 9, the race was split, drawing so many horses the racing office divided the entries into two races.

Silver Rock and Let’s Do It ended up in different divisions, and each did their part by registering come-from-behind victories.

AUBURN, Wash. – Carr Creek, a hard-luck loser in his 2011 debut, and Rainier Ice, who won his final 2010 start impressively, headline the feature race Friday at Emerald Downs. Racing begins at 6 p.m. Pacific, and the main event, a $25,000 claimer for 3-year-olds who’ve never won twice, is the seventh of eight races.

ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Jenny’s So Great and Moonlit Beauty, both of whom became stakes winners on Woodbine’s turf course last season, should be making their seasonal bows in Friday’s headliner.

The third-level allowance/optional $75,000 claiming race offers a purse of $79,700 and is scheduled to be the first turf race of the meeting, at 6 1/2 furlongs.

And, while there is a strong likelihood that the race will be taken off the grass, both Jenny’s So Great and Moonlit Beauty also have been effective on the local Polytrack.

GRAND PRAIRIE, Texas – Shotgun Gulch, who became a Grade 1 winner in April, returned to her Lone Star Park base on Wednesday after a freshening and has a longterm goal of making the Grade 2, $400,000 Masters at Presque Isle Downs, said her trainer, C.R. Trout.

The 6 1/2-furlong race for fillies and mares in Erie, Pa., is not until Sept. 10, so before then Shotgun Gulch could see action at Arlington Park. Trout said an option is the Grade 3, $100,000 Chicago Handicap at seven furlongs on July 3.

AUBURN, Wash. – Joe Steiner quit riding in 2006, a year after suffering a herniated disk and nerve damage in his left shoulder in a spill at Santa Anita. He returned to the saddle last month, renewed in health and spirit following six years in the slow lane. On Sunday, his comeback will bring him home to Emerald Downs, where he is scheduled to ride He’s All Heart in the $50,000 Governor’s Handicap.

BALTIMORE – Patti Cooksey and Andrea Seefeldt own a special place in Pimlico history as the only two women to ride in the Preakness. Last year, they had roles in another part of track lore when they rode in the inaugural Lady Legends for the Cure on Preakness eve.

Cooksey, Seefeldt, and five of the other six retired female jockeys who rode in the highly successful Lady Legends event will be back Friday. The $31,000, six-furlong allowance offers parimutuel wagering as the seventh of 13 races. It will also serve to raise funds and awareness for breast cancer research.

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BALTIMORE – The day before the biggest race of the year in Maryland doesn’t draw nearly as large an ontrack crowd as the 100,000-plus they get in Kentucky. Still, there are apt comparisons of Preakness eve to Derby eve: Both feature a big race for 3-year-old fillies amid the palpable excitement of an impending Triple Crown event.