Breakfast drink for race day

Ensure

...and coffee

I normally don't eat a big breakfast and in fact can distracted and skip breakfast altogether on a normal day.  On a race day I make sure I fuel up with something solid.  usually a bagel on the drive there or at home if up early enough.  A banana at the race.  Everybody is probably different.  I just seem to perform better with solid food in me on race day.  I sometimes make smoothies for post morning workout to get something in me.  Not sure that would be enough for a HIM but you could try that in training. 

How about nothing?  If you aren't a big breakfast person why take anything?  

I am on a high carb diet and don't take anything for 4 hour before a race, so those early morning races usually mean that my last food is the evening before.  I only do a light meal in the evening, but do a big lunch (with lots of carbs) the day before.  If you are eating right and taper for an event you won't need anything on race morning but something to calm your jitters.

You've heard some good options here, but something I didn't see mentioned that can make or break a race is whatever you think you want to eat before races, eat the same thing before long training days in the weeks leading up to the race.  That's an important part of practicing fueling and hydration strategies to minimize the chances of having GI issues on race day.

Generally, no, race distance shouldn't affect what most people eat for breakfast.  The point of eating 2-3 hours before the race is because in that time the food has emptied out of your stomach, and entered the intestines.  At that point, you're still absorbing the nutrition from it, but because it's no longer in your stomach, it's not going to slosh around and cause you GI issues.