COLUMBUS, Neb. – After a 2 1/2-month hiatus, live racing returns Friday evening to Nebraska as Columbus Races opens for a five-week stand that runs through Labor Day.

This will mark the second meet operated by the nonprofit entity Columbus Exposition and Racing, which was formed last summer to salvage racing in Columbus. The former operator of the meet, the Platte County Agricultural Society, still operates the county fair and other activities during the year but did not apply for race dates in 2013, which prompted the formation of the new entity.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – George M. Baker, who retired almost 25 years ago from a distinguished training career highlighted by his work with the top filly Politely, died Monday at Baptist East Hospital here following a long illness. He was 83.

Baker’s son, the Churchill Downs-based trainer Jimmy Baker, said his father worked for Bridlewood Farm in Florida for several years after he retired from training in 1990.

Keeneland announced this week that the purse for the 29th running of the Shadwell Turf Mile has been raised to $1 million, marking the first time a seven-figure purse has been offered at the Lexington, Ky., track.

Shadwell Farm has sponsored its namesake race since 1999. The race had been worth $750,000 the last two years after being a $600,000 event for years.

The West Virginia Racing Commission will meet on Friday to discuss possible responses to a spate of recent drug positives that have cropped up in the wake of changes to the state’s medication rules and a transition to a new testing laboratory, the executive director of the commission said on Tuesday.

LEXINGTON, Ky. – Keeneland has put its plans to build a parlor for slot-machine-like devices on hold “indefinitely” because of its recent selection as the host of the Breeders’ Cup two-day event in 2015, the track’s chief operating officer confirmed Tuesday.

Beyer Speed Figures will no longer be assigned to 4 1/2-furlong races at Gulfstream Park. Previously published figures for the distance have been expunged.

“We are uncertain about the accuracy of the times at the distance,” said Andrew Beyer, creator of the figures, “and we have no way to verify them.”

DEL MAR, Calif. - Citing concern over a turf course that has seen three horses fatally injured in the last 48 hours, Joe Harper, the president and chief executive of Del Mar, on Saturday said Del Mar would move its two grass races Sunday to the main Polytrack course.

Harper said he thought this was the prudent move with the turf course “because of the breakdowns on it.”

OCEANPORT, N.J. – Social Inclusion will not run on Lasix in the $1 million Haskell Invitational on Sunday at Monmouth Park.

After the colt finished third in the Grade 2 Woody Stephens Stakes on the Belmont Stakes undercard, trainer Manny Azpurua and the Rontos Racing Stable submitted the necessary documents to the state veterinarians in Florida on June 19, indicating Social Inclusion would no longer use the anti-bleeding medication.

Due to adverse weather conditions, Friday night’s card at Northlands Park has been canceled.

The $50,000 Princess Margaret Stakes for 2-year-old fillies has been rescheduled for Saturday and will be contested following the last race as a non-wagering event.

DEL MAR, Calif. - Dance With Fate, the winner of the Grade 1 Blue Grass Stakes in April, was euthanized on Thursday morning after suffering a severe stifle injury during a training accident at Del Mar earlier that morning, trainer Peter Eurton announced on his Twitter feed.

“Words can’t express what we’re feeling right now,” Eurton wrote. “With an extremely heavy heart, we report Dance With Fate was unable to survive his injuries.”