SEA and Horse Racing Equine Advocates Host Rep. Andy Harris (R-MD-1) at Pimlico Race Course

On Preakness Eve, SEA partnered with Horse Racing Equine Advocates Oscar Gonzales, Will Velie & Julio Rubio and the American Business Immigration Council for a behind the scenes look at legendary trainer H. Graham Motion’s stable operations.

H. Graham Motion trains roughly 200 horses, for various owners, including President of West Point Thoroughbreds Terry Finley. Finley gave Harris an overview of his horse racing operation before we received a tour of the stables from assistant trainer and stable manager Ian Wilson. Wilson is responsible for the wellbeing of the horses including managing his 26 H-2B workers. In horse racing, the H-2B workers come from all around the world. We met workers from England, South Africa and Mexico. Interesting aside, Finley was a classmate of Homeland Security Chairman Mark Green (R-TN-7) at West Point.

In horse racing, labor, like almost all lower-skilled labor intensive industries, is a perennial issue. The horse racing calendar is broken into two distinct seasons making the H-2B program a good fit for most trainers. The winter season is based in Wellington, FL, and the summer/fall seasons rotate between Saratoga, NY and Keeneland, KY. In the past, Elizabeth Buckley and Will Velie have donated phenomenal Keeneland and Saratoga packages to the SEA auction. Another reason to not miss our auction at our 2026 Labor Forum in Tucson, AZ!

Harris said that many people confuse the issues facing visa applicants with immigration. He said this is a workforce issue, not an immigration issue and this is something he has worked hard to educate his House Freedom Caucus colleagues on. Harris also said that despite Trump’s efforts to crack down on illegal immigration, the President is “well aware” that he can’t cripple American industries with overreaching policies.

“These are temporary foreign workers, these are not people who are coming here asking to stay here forever, asking them to be citizens, asking for benefits,” he said. “They’re here to work, and as a country that treasures hard work, we should welcome them.”

Trainer H. Graham Motion stables his horses at the 7,000 acre Fair Hill International equestrian center located a short drive from Pimlico. Three trainers keep their horses at Fair Hill.

Dr. Harris has and will continue to push for an H-2B fix that provides certainty to all H-2B program users. Crab processors, although they receive the most media attention, are not the only occupation who uses the program in Harris’ district. Ocean City is in his district and at any point in the summer you will find hundreds of H-2B workers staffing the various carnival rides and concessions. The famous Inn at Perry Cabin is also in his district. The Inn requests H-2B workers for everything from maids to cooks to landscapers.

Harris has requested that the Certified Seasonal Employer Designation language be included in the FY26 DHS Appropriations bill. This language permits employers who have a demonstrated history of compliance in the program (received labor certification the last five years) to have the highest number of workers they were certified for in those five years permanently exempted from the cap.

The Pimlico Race Course is set to be torn down after this season. The Preakness will be moved to Laurel Park temporarily while they determine the next steps for Pimlico. The horsemen therefore used this opportunity to encourage Harris to push for federal funding for the upcoming rebuild of Pimlico and the new training center at Shamrock Rock Farm in Carroll County, MD.

Thank you Oscar Gonzales, Will Velie, Julio Rubio and Ian Wilson for a great day at the Pimlico Race Course!

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