[Solved] DropDownList validation fails on "Please Select" prompt?

[Gene]

I have no validation data annotations on my view model for the field I am creating a DropDownListFor control, yet validation fails when I reset my DropDownList to the default "Please Select" SelectListItem I use for a prompt.  The value is string.Empty.  I've searched high and low and don't see any answer or reason for this.  Is there ANY way to prohibit validation?  Why in the world is the controls being validated anyhow, it's a DropDownList for goodness sake.  Is there a way to disable validation for the control client-side? This is silly.

[Gene]

Silly me...tried to select an item that was not in the select list using javascript and received this error - you're off the hook this time Telerik ;)