Judge — November 11, 1882 — page 16: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This satirical cartoon critiques proposed reforms to Jerome Park, a famous New York racetrack. The top panel shows a reformed goat, suggesting moral improvement through discipline. The middle section depicts horse racing with spectators in a viewing box labeled "Box for the Clergy"—satirizing religious leaders' involvement in reform efforts. The bottom panel illustrates Jerome Park's "reforms": new jockey costumes, Sunday school pricing, removal of pools to Philadelphia, and prohibition of bars. Signs reading "NO SMOKING, NO PROFANITY" mock the park's attempted moral sanitization. The cartoon ridicules both the impracticality of these restrictions for a racetrack and the hypocrisy of clergy endorsing gambling venues while demanding moral reforms. The satire suggests that Jerome Park cannot be genuinely "reformed" while maintaining its essential nature as a gambling destination.