Officials at the British Horseracing Authority have united with other racecourse partners to salvage some of the key races after the wash-out of the York Ebor festival.
All three Group Ones and an Ebor substitute will be run in the coming days, with Newmarket, Goodwood and Newbury all stepping up to play host.
The news will come as a relief to Racing Victoria Limited, which is trying to lure several European-trained gallopers for the Melbourne Cup in November.
"The European horses are pretty adaptable and have spaces between runs so if they have other options, they'll do that and it shouldn't impact too much," said RVL racing operations manager Paul Bloodworth.
Septimus, the second favourite for the Melbourne Cup, and a host of other hopes were set to run at York.
The first two days of the four-day meeting were lost on Tuesday after a deluge of rain and officials had planned to inspect the track at midday to assess prospects for the rest of the week.
However, with waterlogged patches still lying on the track this morning, York clerk of the course and chief executive William Derby was faced with no alternative but to wave the white flag.
"Unfortunately we had to abandon the rest of the meeting as the track is waterlogged in places and there is no prospect of it drying out," he said.
"It is obviously disappointing, both for the connections of the horses and the whole team so I am so sorry about that."
"It's hugely frustrating and to be beaten by the elements is a very humbling experience."
"We have had an unbelievable amount of rainfall and the course could just not take any more."
York chairman Nicholas Wrigley added that he thought the meeting would probably have survived the elements had the new $5.3 million drainage system been in place.
Further work on that infrastructure is due to start this weekend and will force the track to remain closed until the Dante fixture next May.
"We are very sorry for everybody, but I feel especially sorry for William and his team as they have worked incredibly hard," he said.
"It is also very disappointing to hear suggestions about our motives for racing to be abandoned."
"There is no financial incentive for us to abandon. We are here to race and we want to race, and in the sense that we are a not-for-profit organisation then the whole committee does want to race."
"We are all here as we love racing and we love racing at York. The decision we had today was if the track was raceable on Thursday and whether it was worth going through the agonies of prolonging it for another day, and the possibility of racing Friday and Saturday."
"You only have to look at the level of the river and the water table, and the further severe weather warning we have just received for more rain."
"In life you always have difficult decisions but this one was quite straightforward."
Newmarket will play host to the International Stakes on Saturday after the BHA worked frantically in an attempt to re-schedule nine races.
Headquarters will also stage the Festival's other Group One events - the Darley Yorkshire Oaks and the Coolmore Nunthorpe Stakes - on Friday.
The Ladbrokes Great Voltigeur will take place at Goodwood on Saturday, while the Ebor becomes the totesport Newburgh and will be run at Newbury on Friday, as will the Gimcrack.