One of the perks of being a turf writer is the privilege of voting on the Eclipse Awards. Come to think of it, for a semiretired gentleman of the turf, that might be just about the only benefit one could characterize as a perk.

That being said, marking this year’s ballot is hardly a walk in the park.

As horses make fewer and fewer starts each year, choosing the “right” horse can become more subjective and less fact-based. When the two leading contenders for champion 2-year-old male each made only three starts and never faced each other, how do you choose between them?

The recalibration of the bloodstock market took a big step forward in 2013, as several major auctions set records and foal-crop numbers stabilized to a degree following precipitous declines over the past several years.

The Jockey Club predicted a decline in the size of the North American foal crop for an eighth straight year, estimating the 2013 crop at 23,000. While that figure represents a decline of about 40 percent since 2005, the last time the foal crop increased annually, the projected 2 percent decline from 2012 was the smallest drop since 2007.

The Thoroughbred Charities of America will hold its 24th annual stallion season auction from Jan. 2-4. The three-day fundraiser consists of a telephone and online auction culminating with a live select stallion season auction on Jan. 4 at 6:30 p.m. Eastern at the Keeneland entertainment center in Lexington, Ky.

Summer Bird, the champion 3-year-old male of 2009 and winner of that year’s Belmont Stakes, died Dec. 23 of colic in Japan.

The news was initially reported by the Twitter account of Japan-based Paca Paca Farm.

The 7-year-old from the first crop of sire and 2004 Belmont winner Birdstone had been standing at Shizunai Stallion Station, which is operated by the Japan Bloodhorse Breeders' Association on the island of Hokkaido. Summer Bird was about to stand his second season in Japan after being sold to the JBBA for the 2013 breeding season.

WinStar Farm in Versailles, Ky., promoted David Hanley to general manager on Monday, where he will oversee the farm’s 23-stallion division and other business operations. Hanley previously served as director of development at WinStar, and will replace Chris Baker, who was named chief operating officer at nearby Three Chimneys Farm last week.

Veteran horseman and farm manager Chris Baker has been named the chief operating officer at Three Chimneys Farm. Baker, who has over 30 years experience in the horse industry, moves to the Midway, Ky., farm from nearby WinStar Farm, where he served two years as general manager.

Grade 3 winner San Pablo has been retired and will stand the 2014 breeding season at Lere Visagie’s Rockridge Stud in Hudson, N.Y. The 5-year-old son of Jump Start, a seven-time stakes winner over three seasons of racing, will stand for a fee of $2,500 payable when the foal stands and nurses.

City Wolf, a Grade 3-winning half-brother to Horse of the Year Ghostzapper and Grade 1 winner City Zip, has been retired from racing and will stand the 2014 breeding season at Pleasant Acres Stallions in Morriston, Fla., for an advertised fee of $4,000, payable when the foal stands and nurses.

One of the first horses bred by Marty and Pam Wygod when they entered the Thoroughbred business in the 1970s was Pirate’s Bounty, a beautifully bred son of the great Hoist the Flag out of stakes winner Bad Seed, by Stevward. Though far from a top-class racehorse, Pirate’s Bounty did manage to win a minor stakes at the Meadowlands and placed in both the Aqueduct and Paumonok handicaps.

Courtesy of Three Chimneys FarmFlower Alley