Archive for the ‘Jockey Club’ Category

PRESS RELEASE

At its February 9, 2010, meeting, The Jockey Club’s Board of Stewards accepted the recommendation of The Jockey Club Registrar to deny Florida resident Lope M. Gonzalez all privileges of The American Stud Book on a permanent basis effective January 1, 2011.
 
This action was taken based upon information received by the Registrar, which included the judgment entered October 14, 2009, in the Circuit Court of Marion County Florida in the matter of the State of Florida vs. Lope M. Gonzalez (Case number 09-MM-7123), and pursuant to Section V, Rule 19(A)(4)(d) of the Principal Rules and Requirements of The American Stud Book concerning acts of cruelty committed to a horse.
 
Denial of all privileges of The American Stud Book includes the privilege to register foals or submit any documents related to foal registration. The January 1, 2011, effective date allows registration of foals already conceived prior to the judgment.
 
Ogden Mills Phipps, the chairman of The Jockey Club, said, “The Jockey Club fully supports and assists law enforcement agencies, the courts and racing regulatory authorities in the investigation of matters involving cruelty to Thoroughbreds. When there is a final determination by a court, an official tribunal or an official racing body that a person has killed, abandoned, mistreated, neglected or abused, or otherwise committed an act of cruelty to a horse, The Jockey Club will not hesitate to take appropriate action under Rule 19.”
 
Principal Rules and Requirements of The American Stud Book are located here.
 
The Jockey Club, founded in 1894 and dedicated to the improvement of Thoroughbred breeding and racing, is the breed registry for North American Thoroughbreds. In fulfillment of its mission, The Jockey Club provides support and leadership on a wide range of important industry initiatives and it serves the information and technology needs of owners, breeders, media, fans and farms, among others. Additional information is available at jockeyclub.com.

Press Release

The Jockey Club is once again offering owners and breeders the opportunity to contribute, through a voluntary checkoff program, to Thoroughbred aftercare programs at the time they register their foals in 2010, it was announced today by James L. Gagliano, the president of The Jockey Club.
 
The retirement checkoff program, created in 2009, is administered by The Jockey Club, and it raises funds to assist the retirement, retraining and adoption efforts of Thoroughbred Charities of America (TCA) and the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation (TRF).
 
The Jockey Club, through its four commercial subsidiaries, donated $100,000 to each of those two charities in 2009 and will make donations for that same amount in 2010. The four companies are: The Jockey Club Information Systems Inc.; The Jockey Club Technology Services Inc.; InCompass Solutions Inc.; and The Jockey Club Racing Services Inc.
 
“We are grateful to those who participated in the checkoff in 2009 and we hope that additional individuals and organizations will do their part this year to help ensure adequate post-racing care for Thoroughbreds,” said Gagliano. “The treatment and use of racehorses at the conclusion of their racing careers should be of concern to all industry participants.”
 
“The checkoff is important because it provides a steady source of funding for essential TCA activities,” said TCA president Herb Moelis. “We appreciate the contributions that have been made through the checkoff and we are grateful to The Jockey Club for maintaining the checkoff program. We hope other organizations will follow its lead and enact similar programs that benefit retirement efforts.”
 
“With across-the-board decreases in charitable giving, it’s more important than ever for the Thoroughbred industry to take care of its own and we urge owners and breeders to make contributions through The Jockey Club’s checkoff program,” said Diana Pikulski, the executive director of Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation.
 
TCA raises funds and distributes grants to a variety of non-profit organizations designed to improve conditions for horses and people in the Thoroughbred industry. Funds from The Jockey Club checkoff program are directed specifically to TCA’s Thoroughbred re-training and adoption initiatives. Additional information about TCA is available at thoroughbredcharities.org.
 
Founded in 1983, the TRF is dedicated to providing humane retirement options for Thoroughbreds at the end of their racing careers, and it operates vocational training in equine care for inmates at nine correctional facilities around the country. Funds from The Jockey Club checkoff program are designated specifically for the TRF’s vocational training at correctional facilities. Additional information about TRF is available at trfinc.org.
 
Thoroughbred breeders have the option of selecting one of four graduated amounts ($25, $50, $75, or $100) to be designated for these Thoroughbred aftercare programs or they can fill in the amount of their choice on the Application for Foal Registration form. These contributions do not qualify as charitable contributions for federal income tax purposes.
 
The Jockey Club, founded in 1894 and dedicated to the improvement of Thoroughbred breeding and racing, is the breed registry for North American Thoroughbreds. In fulfillment of its mission, The Jockey Club provides support and leadership on a wide range of important industry initiatives and it serves the information and technology needs of owners, breeders, media, fans and farms, among others. Additional information is available at jockeyclub.com.

By Ray Paulick
A number of people expressed outrage over the recent story of the 12-year-old mare Grand Forks and the owner who tried to run her at Churchill Downs after she had been away from the races for nine years. (Click here for the details of the story.)

Grand Forks had changed hands earlier this year after an unsuccessful career as a broodmare, her previous owner saying that he felt there was an understanding with the new owner that the mare would be used in horse shows and eventing and not for racing purposes. But the new owner of Grand Forks received the Jockey Club registration papers and those papers do not specify how a Thoroughbred is to be used.

This incident is not the first time an owner allegedly gave away or sold a Thoroughbred to someone with the understanding that the horse would not race again, only to see its name show up in the entry box at a racetrack.

A Paulick Report reader recently suggested a solution that might put an end to this kind of problem. “We have seen horses resurface at racetracks post-retirement such as this one,” this individual wrote. “Or, just as bad, we have seen horses re-bred.  The solution would seem to be that horses should be separated from their papers at the time of retirement/donation.  However, we have seen that this action stifles the adoption process.  A horse with papers is significantly more likely to be adopted than a horse without papers or without ability to acquire papers.

“This has been experienced over and over again by racehorse rescue/retirement professionals.

“Has the industry ever considered issuing ‘retirement papers’? ‘Retirement papers’ would be issued for free or a nominal fee to cover costs by the Jockey Club.  They would be a different color and would have clear notation of ‘not for breeding’ and/or ‘not for racing.’  These papers would be defined by the industry as unacceptable for purposes of race entry or breeding.  I am sure there are other considerations that would go along with this concept that could be flushed out with some discussion.  I do not know that this is a best solution but on the surface it seems reasonable and achievable.  And I KNOW it makes a difference to racehorse adoption.”

I discussed this seemingly common-sense solution with Matt Iuliano, who for eight years has served as vice president of registration services for the Jockey Club and this week was named executive director of the Thoroughbred’s breed registry. Iuliano said there have been discussions at the Club about how to prevent incidents similar to the Grand Forks saga, and that the Club’s recommendation is that the horses in question be “sold without pedigree.” That, in fact, is covered by Rule No. 18 in the American Stud Book’s Principal Rules and Requirements. Rule 18 specifically states that writing something along the lines of “not to be raced” on the registration papers can be considered as “defacing” the foal registration certificate and may result in corrected papers being issues—thus, defeating the purpose.

Iuliano, not surprisingly, said Jockey Club lawyers recommended the Club not make determinations on how a Thoroughbred may or may not be used when it changes hands. “It became a matter of inserting the Jockey Club into a private transaction,” Iuliano told the Paulick Report. “We’ve elected not to entangle ourselves.”

He did say the Jockey Club has worked with other breeds and disciplines to verify or satisfy questions about pedigrees that have come up when horses are “sold without pedigree.”  In addition, earlier this year, the Club announced a free lip tattoo service to help owners of Thoroughbreds without registration papers identify the names or parentage of the horses they acquired.

While those are good, positive steps, I’m afraid incidents such as the alleged one involving Grand Forks will continue. Acquiring a horse without pedigree is going to be a deal-breaker in many cases,  and unscrupulous individuals are going to say whatever is necessary to get the registration papers of a Thoroughbred if it serves their own purpose.

The Jockey Club should continue to examine this matter and put its lawyers back to work on a more satisfactory solution to the problem.To blame the lawyers for inaction on this matter is nothing less than a cop-out.

Copyright © 2009, The Paulick Report

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But how is the company doing in fulfilling the mission its founders established for Equibase?

Alan Marzelli, president of the Jockey Club and chairman of Equibase, said in 1990 the “promotion and betterment of racing is behind the decision” to start Equibase. The company’s first president, David Haydon, said Equibase would “address racing’s need for fan base expansion.”

Marzelli can point to the fact that the “industry” through Equibase since 1991 has owned its data, which previously had been collected and controlled by the “Daily Racing Form.” Limited portions of that data have been provided at no charge for promotional purposes to television, media and racetracks. Daily entries, jockey and trainers standings, and horse tracking software are available at no cost, as are race results for a limited time after a race is run. Equibase.com is a popular web site, by horse racing standards, though it pales in comparison with every other major league sport’s Internet presence.

Equibase.com also strikes out, big time, when compared to what the other major league sports web sites offer in the way of free statistics to their fans. It wasn’t until I started really digging around www.mlb.com (baseball), www.nba.com (basketball), www.nfl.com (football), www.pgatour.com and www.nhl.com (hockey) that I realized how woefully inadequate and misguided Equibase.com is as a sports information web site. It’s a commercial site, pure and simple.

Other sports use their web sites in large part to provide information for fans who have an appetite for statistics, whether it’s for the very popular fantasy leagues or for their own curiosity. It’s truly amazing the scope and depth of information you can find on these other sites. The theory is that informed and educated fans are more likely to become engaged with a sport, and providing as much information as possible on the Internet, the undisputed No. 1 source for information gathering, is the way to inform, educate and engage them. It might take a while for those sports to capitalize on fans who visit the web sites; perhaps they’ll go to a game, buy some team merchandise or at the very least provide a pair of eyeballs during televised events.

Racing can capitalize much quicker, since turning fans into horseplayers can be monetized through pari-mutuel wagering. You’d think racing would provide as much information as possible to fans in hopes of transforming them into paying customers, either at the racetracks or through legal online betting accounts. (There are rumors that some people bet on major league sports, too, but in the United States that’s only legal in the state of Nevada, and the sports leagues don’t get any of the revenue from those bets.)

Instead, however, Equibase, the official database of Thoroughbred racing, uses its web site in large part to promote its commercial ventures. Let’s do a comparison:

I’m a baseball fan who grew up in the 1960s watching greats like Willie Mays, Mickey Mantle and Ernie Banks (showing my Chicago Cubs bias). If I wanted to compare the lifetime statistics of any of those players to modern-day greats like Alex Rodriguez or Milton Bradley (just kidding), that information is just a click away at mlb.com.

Even better, if I wanted to see how Rodriguez or Bradley have done against pitchers like Randy Johnson or Roger Clemens, I could plug in the names and, voila, mlb.com gives me those statistics! (Click here for an explanation on how mlb.com’s stats work.)

Now let’s look at some racing greats. Say you wanted to compare the lifetime records of Cigar and Curlin, both of them two-time Horses of the Year in North America. Go to Equibase.com and click on the “search for products” dropdown menu on the left column. There you’ll have an option for “lifetime PP’s.” Type in the names of Cigar and Curlin, add them to your shopping cart, get out your credit card and buy the lifetime records of these two horses for $16. It’s a slightly different fan experience.

Want to know how Cigar’s trainer Bill Mott compares with Curlin’s trainer Steve Asmussen? Sorry, but Equibase doesn’t offer that kind of product. (It is available at the Jockey Club’s other data company, equineline.com, for $7 per report.)

Equibase does offer some products for free, including what it calls “E Leaders”—horses in various divisions that have produced the fastest Equibase speed figures (a poor man’s Beyer Speed Figure) for the year. I’m not sure how reliable these numbers are, though, since the highest speed figure for any horse racing in 2009 belongs to Researcher, who earned a 132 Equibase speed figure winning the Charles Town Classic Stakes in April. I guess in a sense you get what you pay for.

I’d tell you more about the Charles Town Classic winner, but I’m not willing to spend the $8 for his past performances or buy the chart of his race from Equibase for $1.50.

Charging for lifetime past performances and race charts is just one of many commercial products available at Equibase.com. There are tip sheets selling for as much as $12.50 per racing program, charges for video replays, charts, pedigrees, etc.

Do yourself a favor and go to some of the other major sports web sites, and explore the vast, comprehensive information that these leagues are willing to provide to their fans at no cost. The data is so rich you might get lost for hours, but the result might be a closer bond between you and that sport. There is an investment involved, but these other sports are willing to make that investment to help build and maintain a fan base, especially among the youngest demographic that is most familiar with using the Internet for gathering information.

After you’ve seen some of these other rich and creative web sites, take a look at Equibase.com. I’d be interested in your comments comparing Equibase.com with other sport web sites.

Racing, through the Jockey Club and TRA, made an initial investment in Equibase nearly 20 years ago so that the industry could own its data. The hope I had then, and the hope I still have today, is that the people who run Equibase will look beyond the bottom line of their profit and loss statement, and begin to use the statistics that the industry owns to make horse racing more popular and more accessible. All they’re doing now is making Equibase as profitable as it can be. It’s a bean counter’s mentality, and it’s the kind of business philosophy that will stifle any prospect of industry growth.

Copyright © 2009, The Paulick Report

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Created in 1990 to end the century-old monopoly “Daily Racing Form” held on the acquisition and ownership of North American racing data, Equibase is a joint venture of the Jockey Club and the member tracks of the Thoroughbred Racing Associations of North America. For most of its existence, the “Racing Form” was owned by Walter Annenberg’s Triangle Publications (other products in Triangle included the Philadelphia “Inquirer “ newspaper, “Seventeen” magazine, and “TV Guide,” which at one time had 20 million weekly readers, the biggest circulation of any American publication; suffice to say Triangle was an extremely lucrative business).

Annenberg and his key lieutenants at the “Racing Form”—publisher Mike Sandler and editor Fred Grossman—had a cozy relationship with the racing industry. Racetracks were doing well in the 1970s and 1980s and so was the “Form.” Prices for racing’s only daily newspaper went up regularly (always preceded by a page two news brief about the rising cost of newsprint), but if horseplayers and fans complained, there was really no option for them; attempts by other publishers to collect data and compete with the “Form” were quickly squashed, with help in many cases from the racetracks, who didn’t want to upset the applecart.

But in a surprise move in 1988, Annenberg sold Triangle Publications to Australian publisher Rupert Murdoch for $3.2 billion. The transaction made more than a few people in the racing industry nervous. For the first time, they felt threatened that the new owner of the “Racing Form” might not be quite as benevolent as Walter Annenberg and his father had been. In order for Murdoch and Co. to squeeze profits out of this significant investment, there was the fear that these new owners might hold the industry hostage using the historical and contemporary racing data it acquired as part of the purchase.

Not long thereafter, a plan was hatched for the “industry” to begin collecting its own racing data, and Equibase was formed. There were great pronouncements about how Equibase would be used to serve the racing public, making a day of racing more enjoyable, and help address the sport’s need to expand its fan base.

A new publication, the “Racing Times,” launched in 1991 (and folded one year later), became Equibase’s first customer, and before long most racetracks began using Equibase racing data in past performances published in track programs. They were, in fact, competing with the “Racing Form” with their products.

Then and now, Equibase received a fee for every program sold. That has been one of Equibase’s biggest successes: collecting fees at its information toll gate.

Eventually, even the “Daily Racing Form” (which changed hands several more times after Murdoch’s 1988 purchase) became a customer of Equibase, shutting down its own track and field operations that had set the standard for charting American races.

The means by which the data was collected always seemed a bit crude to me. Whether it was the “Daily Racing Form” crew or Equibase’s employees, the method was the same: someone with a pair of binoculars perched in the press box watches a race and calls out (to another person or sometimes into a tape recorder) the running positions of each horse, including estimated margins, at specific points in a race. As you can imagine, it can often take some time to work through a field of a dozen horses, and by the time the chart caller gets through the field, some horses may have changed positions. The only truly accurate call of a race is a horse’s finishing position, which is taken from the photo finish camera.

In short, charting races is a very inexact science, and it can lead to some very misleading charts and past performances that horseplayers, fans and horse owners believe to be gospel. As a former “Racing Form” employee, I would often see charts of races where a horse was said to be 15 lengths behind the leader with a quarter of a mile to run, and then went on to win. Using the formula of one length equaling approximately one-fifth of a second, that horse, on paper at least, theoretically might run his final quarter mile in less than 22 seconds, a virtual impossibility.

I trust that Equibase’s standards have improved over the years, but the bottom line is the charts and each horse’s position in a race at different “points of call” is little more than an estimate made by the chart caller.

Equibase has been promising for almost 20 years now that it is working toward an automated chart collection process. Early in 1991, I felt like an acquaintance of the Wright Brothers at Kitty Hawk when I went out to the Kentucky Horse Park to watch a demonstration of an early chart-collecting system. An Equibase executive cobbled together a microchip processor, some wires, a slow-moving horse and an old Telex machine to show that data could indeed be collected automatically. Of course, getting racetracks to mimic the project with antennas and wires stretched around the racetrack was another thing.

Since then, we’ve seen sports like NASCAR lead the way in global satellite positioning. Trakus, a private company that is not part of the Jockey Club “family of companies,” is the leader in this technology for horse racing. Trakus technology has been in place at Woodbine racecourse in Canada since 2006. Del Mar and Keeneland also use Trakus to give fans a video game-like view of a race. The technology can also be used to automatically chart races and give horseplayers very specific information, such as how far a horse may have traveled during a race (based on how wide a trip he had), and when he demonstrated his fastest and slowest speeds. For some reason, the Jockey Club has not yet embraced this technology.

In between the humorous demo in 1991 and the Trakus installations in 2006, Jockey Club president Alan Marzelli (who is also chairman of Equibase) has promised automated charting of races in the “not too distant future.” In 2002, speaking at the Jockey Club’s annual Round Table, Marzelli said Equibase might be on the verge of revolutionizing how racing information is collected. “We are in the early stages of testing this technology,” Marzelli said, “so we don’t want to get too far ahead of ourselves. But we think that we may be close to finding an answer. If so, this new technology will not only provide entirely new ways for handicappers to analyze races, but it will also provide broadcast enhancements and new media applications that will help make televised racing more compelling and open up additional distribution channels for the sport. This is not a fantasy. Other major sports—football, baseball, and NASCAR being three prominent examples—are already enhancing their broadcasts using this technology, and the information generated by it today. At its board meeting earlier this week, the Equibase Management Committee heard about the success of our initial tests conducted at Keeneland in July, and authorized management to conduct further testing later this fall. So stay tuned for further news regarding this exciting initiative later this year.”

Seven years later, the industry is still waiting for that update.

In the meantime, Equibase has been a very successful toll booth, charging horseplayers, fans and horsemen for things that other sports routinely give away at no cost. (I suspect it is a very profitable company, though Equibase’s financials are not made public.)

Granted, horse racing is a very statistically-oriented activity, and the collection of the data costs money. But golf, baseball and football (anyone ever heard of fantasy leagues?), among other sports, are also statistically heavy, and those activities manage to collect and disseminate their data without gouging its fan and customer base.

A baseball fan can go to MLB.com and check out box scores of all Major League Baseball games, not just this week, or this month, but last month or last year, or the year before that. There is no charge to go back and relive those games or to see what happened.

If a racing fan wants to go back more than a few days and see the charts of Rachel Alexandra’s (or any other horse’s) races, they have to pay for that privilege. Equibase’s toll booth is pervasive.

And that’s just the beginning of what Equibase charges for. Over the last 20 years, it has become the new monopoly, replacing the “Daily Racing Form” in that role. But is it as benevolent as the “Form” once was?

Tomorrow, we’ll take a further look at how other sports provide information to their fans at no cost, and compare that to horse racing’s official data company, Equibase.

Copyright © 2009, The Paulick Report

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By Bradford Cummings
“The fate of Eddie Sweat is one of the great shames of the track.” – Bill Nack, seven-time winner of Eclipse Award for writing and author of “Secretariat: The Making of a Champion.”
 
And so the story goes with one of the most legendary backside workers in the history of the Thoroughbred industry. After years of dedication to the sport and despite being the groom to arguably the greatest horse of the 20th century in Secretariat, Eddie Sweat died virtually penniless in 1998. It was in that moment an organization known for its selflessness and dedication to the less fortunate in our industry showed its true colors. The Jockey Club Foundation stepped up and helped pay for Sweat’s funeral.
 
Established in 1943 with the financial aid of five New York racetracks, the Jockey Club Foundation, headquartered in Manhattan, has been a light for those met with tragedy who are a part of the industry but struggle to make ends meet each month. A staff of only two, led by Executive Director Nancy Kelly, takes care of everything the Foundation does from raising money to identifying those in need to ultimately sending the help necessary.
 
Since 1985 when Ms. Kelly started working as an event planner for the organization, the Jockey Club Foundation has helped well over 1,000 individuals and families through gifts just under $13 million.
 
With so many helped by the Foundation, it would be reasonable to think many applicants would have to be turned down. Think again. “As long as the need is genuine and they meet our requirements, we try not to turn them down. Even if we can only help a little,” said Kelly. The requirements are simple to receive help; you or an immediate family member must be licensed by the industry. And while some gifts are more substantial than others, even enough money for a couple weeks of groceries from an unexpected source or help negotiating down a doctor’s bill can mean the difference between getting through a difficult time and losing everything.
 
This year round organization gets the majority of its funding from members of the Jockey Club led by the Jockey Club Foundation Board of Trustees (Steven Duncker, Helen Alexander and D. G. Van Clief Jr.), NYRA and other industry associates. All funds are invested to get the most out of each donation.
 
While they have a synergistic relationship with the Grayson-Jockey Club Foundation, Kelly would like you to know that her group is separate from its research-oriented older sister. Both are maintained under the auspices of the Jockey Club. “So many people are confused about the two groups. Grayson is the horse charity and we are the people charity,” Kelly stated simply.
 
But the two organizations do often work together. Just a few weeks ago, before the Belmont Stakes, the Paulick Report was unable to coordinate a meeting with Ms. Kelly because she was consumed by a Grayson-Jockey Club Foundation event tied to the third leg of the Triple Crown.
 
So how do those in need find the Foundation? Just like in fundraising, it starts with members of the Jockey Club and others in the industry. If someone knows of a situation appropriate to the Jockey Club Foundation’s cause, they can simply and anonymously refer the candidate to the organization and Kelly and her small staff will take care of the rest. Of course, anonymity is guaranteed for those they help as well which is both an asset and hindrance as it makes getting the word out on the Foundation more difficult. But enough have come forward to express their appreciation, like the family of Eddie Sweat, to make people aware of the good the Jockey Club Foundation does for the people in the Thoroughbred industry.
 
If you would like to make a donation to support this organization, the Jockey Club Foundation asks you to visit their website and donate online. And to find out more about the Foundation and how you can help, visit their website.
 
It seems wearing so many hats would make the Jockey Club Foundation staff burnout rate high. But not Ms. Kelly. Her drawer of letters from those she has helped makes the work more than worth it.  “Some of the letters are real tearjerkers. If I’m having a bad day and then I come in and read a letter, it changes my perspective,” she said.
 
“I never have a bad day.”

Once upon a time, there was a rather portly Emperor of a rich but ineffective country called Jockeyclubland. Citizens from all around acquiesced to their dear Emperor Phitts, not because they believed him to be the best ruler, but simply because he was their Emperor. No one dared question the Emperor–not his servants, subjects or the subservient wise men who produced newspapers and magazines about life in the empire. They all knew things were not perfect in Jockeyclubland, but they understood there would be dire consequences if they dared question the Emperor’s rule.

One day, Emperor Phitts welcomed an expert tailor and suit maker who had worked long and hard to deliver a special suit made just for him.

Emperor Phitts nearly exploded with excitement. "I love new suits! Yes, let me see it!" he demanded.

"Well, your majesty, before I show it to you, I want you to know that this suit is a very special one made from the most beautiful cloth. But please know that this cloth is invisible to anyone who is unfit for your esteemed position."

"Let me see it!" exclaimed the Emperor. The unusual tailor pulled out the suit and upon sight, Emperor Phitts panicked. He couldn’t see the suit. But he wasn’t going to hint that he couldn’t see the material and insisted the tailor try the suit on him. He found himself hoping it was made in his size.

"It’s perfect your majesty. Fits you like a dream," the tailor said.

Confused but still unwilling to admit his shortcomings, Emperor Phitts agreed with the unusual tailor. "Yes, I love it!" he feigned. "What is the fabric called if you don’t mind me asking?"

"Why of course your majesty. It’s called bassemer, and TRUST me, you won’t find a better way to cover your assets in all the land. Now I must be leaving. Good day sire.”

Still troubled by his inability to see the fabric, he walked out of his office to show off his new suit. As he made his way down the broad corridor, each citizen of Jockeyclubland stopped and stared.

"Your majesty, your clothes!" cried one of his servants.

"They are beautiful, aren’t they?" As he checked himself in the mirror again, he still didn’t see a suit. "It’s made from the finest cloth called bassemer."

"Well…it is unique," stuttered the servant.

As the Emperor continued through his day, he realized more and more people noticing his suit and their utter shock at how it looked on him. As the citizens passed, they would talk amongst themselves about how he was walking around unclothed, remarking that he must have lost his mind and expressing concern for the future of Jockeyclubland. But each would then go on with their day, none willing to point out the obvious in fear of the Emperor’s wrath.

The Emperor was upset that he couldn’t see his own clothes, though he was at least relieved to know that he was pulling the wool over people’s eyes. That is until a small, independent news organization with more courage than common sense and unable to be controlled by the Emperor stood up and proclaimed, "Hey, look! The Emperor is not wearing any clothes!"

———–

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