The defection of Stay Thirsty on Wednesday from the Breeders’ Cup Classic, and the confirmation that Wise Dan will not even be pre-entered in the race, means that the number of horses expected to be pre-entered in the Classic on Monday should not exceed the maximum of 14. And there is a chance that fewer still could run in the race on Nov. 3 at Santa Anita, since, at the least, Dullahan and Nonios will be pre-entered in two races and could opt out.

Victory over an outstanding field in the 2012 Breeders’ Cup Ladies’ Classic might not be the crowning achievement for the favorite.

Royal Delta has been there, done that. And she is not done yet, according to owner Benjamin Leon.

“As long as she stays healthy, we should be able to get another good year of enjoyment of her,” Leon said this week from London. “So I intend to race her next year, also.”

In a race that could come up with less than a full gate, Speak Logistics and Dynamic Sky were confirmed as starters for the $2 million Breeders’ Cup Juvenile on Nov. 3 at Santa Anita.

Meanwhile, owner Mike Repole said Wednesday afternoon that none of his 2-year-olds – or any of his horses – would run in the Breeders’ Cup, removing Overanalyze and Micromanage from consideration.

A solid workout this past Saturday at Churchill Downs has sent Little Mike to California for a start in the Breeders’ Cup Mile. It also has put him on a potential collision course with the leading grass miler in California, Obviously.

No Lasix, no Mike Repole-owned horses for this year’s Breeders’ Cup.

Repole, who could have had as many as six starters for next month’s Breeders’ Cup races – including Stay Thirsty for the $5 million Classic – said Wednesday that he will not send any horses to California for this year’s event at Santa Anita. Stay Thirsty will make his final career start in the Grade 1 Cigar Mile at Aqueduct on Nov. 24.

[BREEDERS' CUP 2012: DRF top 10 lists, video replays, latest news]

Dreaming of Julia is two works away from a start in the $2 million Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies at Santa Anita on Nov. 2, while the status of her unbeaten stablemate, Kauai Katie, is still being determined, trainer Todd Pletcher said. The fillies are top-ranked members of the division, and both are owned by Stonestreet Stables.

“Right now, we’re planning on running Dreaming of Julia and we are still discussing Kauai Katie,” Pletcher said.

Emcee has been pretty much out of sight and out of mind, tucked away at the Greentree Training Center in Saratoga since punching his ticket into the Breeders’ Cup with an impressive 4 1/2-length victory in the Grade 1 Forego on Sept. 1. The question that remains to be answered, however, is which direction Emcee will be headed on Breeders’ Cup Day, to the six-furlong Sprint or the Dirt Mile.

[BREEDERS' CUP 2012: DRF top 10 lists, video replays, latest news]

Flashy Ways will be supplemented to the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf for $100,000, which doesn’t include entry fees, according to trainer Richard Baltas.

Flashy Ways, who is based at Hollywood Park, is unbeaten in two starts, both under Joe Talamo. She defeated $50,000 maidens at first asking at Del Mar and then captured Santa Anita’s prep for the BC Juvenile Fillies Turf, the $100,000 Surfer Girl Stakes, with ease from off the pace while earning an 80 Beyer Speed Figure.

Wise Dan has been pre-entered in the Breeders' Cup Mile, and will not be pre-entered in any other BC race, owner Morton Fink said on Wednesday from his home in Chicago.

Horses can be pre-entered in more than one BC race on Monday, but Fink said there was no chance Wise Dan would be pre-entered in the Classic, let alone even be considered to run in that race.

"I sent in my entry slip three days ago, and just put down the Mile," Fink said. "That's the only one we're running in."

Both the Mile and the Classic are Nov. 3 at Santa Anita.

ARCADIA, Calif. – Nates Mineshaft, a three-time stakes winner who was third in the Grade 1 Stephen Foster Handicap at Churchill Downs in June, has joined trainer Richard Mandella’s California stable and is a candidate for the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile at Santa Anita on Nov. 3.

Nates Mineshaft, 5, has not started since the Stephen Foster and is not a definite for the BC Dirt Mile, Mandella said. Nates Mineshaft arrived in Southern California earlier this month and worked six furlongs at Santa Anita in 1:12.40 on Oct. 11.