ELMONT, N.Y. – Todd Pletcher will not have a runner in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf on Nov. 3 after two potential candidates were deemed to need additional time and a third did not work to satisfaction Thursday morning over the Belmont turf course.

Trip handicappers looking to get started on their Breeders’ Cup note-taking and opinions need not wait until entries for the races are drawn. There is plenty of time to gain visual observations of horses being pointed toward the Breeders’ Cup if one knows where to look: YouTube.

Search by the name of a major North American stakes race or its winner, and usually there is a video available, often in high definition. And though European races in their entirety don’t seem to be uploaded with the same consistency, more often than not there are at least stretch replays available.

Ribchester was beaten a half-length by the excellent filly Minding a year ago in the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes, but on Saturday he is the one to beat in the last major mile race of the European season.

Ribchester is one of 15 runners in the QE II, a straight-course mile worth $1.3 million that’s co-featured on British Champions Day at Ascot.

ARCADIA, Calif. – The turf miler Bal a Bali worked six furlongs in 1:13 at Santa Anita on Thursday, and trainer Richard Mandella confirmed he will start in the Breeders’ Cup Mile at Del Mar on Nov. 4.

Bal a Bali was sixth in the Grade 2 Del Mar Mile on Aug. 20 in his most recent start, but has worked to Mandella’s satisfaction in recent weeks.

“He looked really good,” Mandella said. “He runs well fresh.”

Mandella said he timed Bal a Bali in “1:12 and change,” but joked “maybe I was nervous” and stopped the watch too soon.

Trainer Aidan O’Brien has won the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf three times in the race’s 10-year history, and he figures to have the favorite for the 2017 edition at Del Mar if U S Navy Flag comes to run.

U S Navy Flag would be in contention for the most accomplished European 2-year-old to run in the Nov. 3 BC Juvenile Turf if the colt becomes part of an expected large shipment of O’Brien-trained runners at Del Mar. U S Navy Flag won the Group 1 Middle Park Stakes this fall, and this past Saturday, he captured the Group 1 Dewhurst Stakes at Newmarket under Ryan Moore.

Trainer Richard Fahey has been saying for weeks that it wouldn’t be possible to commit Ribchester to the Breeders’ Cup Mile at Del Mar on Nov. 4 before the horse ran in the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes Saturday at Ascot. This week, Fahey opened the door to a fall campaign that could have Ribchester headed to Japan instead of California.

Two years ago, trainer Larry Rivelli ran Cocked and Loaded in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile, and the 16-1 shot ran a creditable fifth behind Nyquist, beaten just a length for third.

This year, Rivelli will be back in the $2 million Breeders’ Cup Juvenile, and he’s expecting even better things from The Tabulator.

“I think he is a better horse than Cocked and Loaded,” Rivelli said. “Cocked and Loaded was an overachiever. I liked him a lot going into that race. With Nyquist, we had an uphill battle but he put in a good showing. I’m expecting better results from this horse.”

Even with last weekend’s Grade 1 Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup and Grade 1 E.P. Taylor generating only a few possible starters for the Nov. 4 Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf at Del Mar, an oversubscribed field is expected when pre-entries are announced next week.

As many as 19 fillies and mares are being considered for the race, according to Breeders’ Cup officials, with seven of those – Dacita, Zipessa, Avenge, War Flag, Birdie Gold, Hydrangea, and Rhododendron – having fees-paid berths by virtue of winning a Breeders’ Cup Challenge race.

Separationofpowers looked like a star in the making when she dominated her debut at Saratoga – but then looked like a green filly with some holes in her armor when she faded to third in the Grade 1 Spinaway Stakes. After bouncing back with a more professional effort to win the Grade 1 Frizette Stakes on Oct. 8 at Belmont, she again looks like a prominent Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies contender.

Decision time has arrived for people with key participants in the Breeders’ Cup Turf on Nov. 4 at Del Mar.

Expected favorite Ulysses was under consideration for Saturday’s Group 1 Champion Stakes at Ascot in England, although a start in the BC Turf seems more likely. Alan Cooper, the racing manager for the Niarchos family, which co-owns Ulysses, said Wednesday that a decision would be made later this week on whether to target Ascot or wait for the BC Turf.

“We’ve left it to the last minute,” Cooper said.