ELMONT, N.Y. - Breeders' Cup officials waited until pre-entry day on Wednesday to announce the order of races that will be run at Belmont Park on Oct. 29, and while the Turf and Classic remained as the final two races on the card, as they had been in previous years, the other six races were altered to maximize betting sequences and placate sponsors, officials said.

In a perfect world, the connections of Wildcat Heir would have worked their talented sprinter over the weekend to find out if they should pre-enter him for the $1 million Breeders' Cup Sprint.

But after eight consecutive days of rain disrupted the colt's training schedule, owner Ebby Novak and trainer Ben Perkins Jr. opted to pre-enter Monday and find out later how fit Wildcat Heir is.

Powerscourt, the Arlington Million winner, was retired on Tuesday, costing the Breeders' Cup Turf one of its favorites.

Trained by Aidan O'Brien, Powerscourt has not run since his Million heroics on Aug. 13.

O'Brien said Powerscourt was not pre-entered in the Turf on Monday.

"He wasn't right yesterday morning," the Irish trainer said Tuesday, "so we decided not to send him."

Subsequently, O'Brien and owner Susan Magnier decided that it was time to retire the 5-year-old Powerscourt.

The Daddy, winner of the $750,000 Super Derby in just his fourth career start Oct. 1, will miss the Breeders' Cup Classic after fracturing one of the splint bones in his left foreleg, his owner, Greg Norman, said Thursday.

The Daddy had surgery to remove the splint bone on Wednesday.

"We're disappointed," said Norman. "We were really, really looking forward to the race."

The Triple Crown trail beckoned last year, and Beau Greely traveled down it with Borrego. After leaving their home base of California, they made stops in Louisiana and Arkansas, before moving on to the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes. But the journey ended there, before going to Belmont Park.

A year later, they have arrived.

The task of getting Henny Hughes ready to try and turn the tables on First Samurai in the $1.5 million Breeders' Cup Juvenile now falls to trainer Kiaran McLaughlin.

Sheikh Rajid bin Mohammed al-Maktoum, who purchased Henny Hughes for $4.3 million prior to his win in the Saratoga Special, on Monday transferred the colt from trainer Patrick Biancone to McLaughlin. The horse arrived in McLaughlin's Belmont Park barn Tuesday morning after having vanned back to Biancone's Turfway Park barn from Belmont on Sunday.

Better Talk Now is likely to have a rabbit working on his behalf when he attempts to defend his title in the $2 million Breeders' Cup Turf at Belmont Park on Oct. 29.

Earlier this year, Better Talk Now won the United Nations Stakes and the Man o' War Handicap, with stablemate Shake the Bank ensuring a quick pace in both races. Wednesday, trainer Graham Motion said "there is a good shot" Shake the Bank will start in the Breeders' Cup Turf.

"We're still discussing it," he said. "The bottom line is he is 2 for 2 with a rabbit."

If a horse from the United Kingdom were to capture the $1 million Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Turf, the most plausible winner would be Ouija Board, the defending champion who is based in England.

In the last several months, however, a horse from Ireland has emerged as a viable prospect for the Filly and Mare Turf: Luas Line, a 3-year-old filly who will try to earn a Breeders' Cup berth Saturday as the likely favorite in the final Filly and Mare Turf prep, the Grade 1 Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup at Keeneland.

The defending champ emphatically stated his case, a major prep race turned established form inside out, and the European who might have given divisional leader Leroidesanimaux his toughest test dropped out of the running. It was a busy week in Breeders' Cup Mile Land. And still there are two weeks to go.

But now we know that Singletary is as good as he was last year when he won the Mile at Lone Star Park. His trainer, Don Chatlos, had said as much, and Singletary tallied the easiest kind of 1 1/2-length victory in the Oak Tree Mile at Santa Anita.

Between the two hurricanes that blew through his home state of Louisiana, and the relentless rain that lashed Belmont Park on Wednesday morning, trainer Andrew Leggio Jr. has had his fill of wet weather in recent weeks. "It seems like wherever I go, the rain follows me," he said.