Mr Fisk’s Condition Makes Bob Baffert Divide Horseracing Community Once Again: “Doesn’t Help Either”

Notable trainers in the horse racing industry are frequently the subject of controversy. Bob Baffert has recently found himself at the forefront of another contentious discussion. This time it is because of the damage sustained by Mr. Fisk, the jockey that he is caring for. As a result of the matter, thoughts on social media and in the horseracing community are highly divided.

The 4-year-old son of Arrogate experienced a condylar fracture shortly after winning the Hollywood Gold Cup Stakes at Santa Anita Park. Baffert has been the subject of several accusations over the years about the care and handling of his horses. Baffert’s horses have won a record-breaking 6x Kentucky Derbies, 8x Preakness Stakes, 3x Belmont Stakes, and 3x Kentucky Oaks. Due to recurrent instances of his horses failing drug tests or passing away while in his care, he has been the target of intense controversy. However, now Bob Baffert is under a bigger lens due to the injury.

The news of Mr. Fisk’s injury came as a huge blow to individuals. A Redditor, LegendaryRBK, posted on the r/horseracing on Reddit noting, “Bobby B breaks down another! Surgery to repair a condylar fracture in Monday’s GII Hollywood Gold Cup winner Mr Fisk (Arrogate)’s right front foreleg was successful, said trainer Bob Baffert on Wednesday morning.” It pointed out that Arrogate and other horses with these roots are frequently at risk of these kinds of wounds.

The horse was found to have a condylar fracture after winning the $201,000 Hollywood Gold Cup Stakes by an astounding 2 1/4 lengths. In a brief update, trainer Bob Baffert said that Mr. Fisk was sleeping well and that his surgery had gone well. Baffert stated on X, “Mr. Fisk is resting comfortably in his stall, ready for dinner.” After winning the Hollywood Gold Cup, Mr. Fisk was vanned off the track but did not enter the winner’s circle. His jockey, Kazushi Kimura, sensed something wasn’t right and acted quickly, possibly minimizing worse injuries. Considering the hazards connected with the horse’s bloodline and pre-existing diseases, this prompt action was imperative. Different thoughts burst forth from the horseracing community despite Baffert’s assurances.

Auidnences’ views on Bob Baffert disclosing the injury of Mr Fisk

Reddit users strongly responded to a heated tweet regarding a problem with horse racing, bringing attention to longstanding issues within the industry. A person user brought up genetic concerns in a note, saying, “Also, inbreeding. Both the mother and the father come from the Mr. Prospector line. You can’t keep mixing this much DNA and it not cause problems. I understand it’s all inbred so much now it’s hard to avoid it, and I have no solution to the problem.”

Another individual echoed the same mindset that Baffert was hiding by saying,  “Agree. Eight Belles, New York Thunder, and Maple Leaf Mel all come to mind. All along I knew Arrogate had to have issues that Baffert was not disclosing.” The Gold Cup, which is being raced for the 86th time at Santa Anita since Hollywood Park closed, is the third major event that Baffert has won 10 or more times. One user brought up the possibility that the problem with Arrogate and other horses may have more to do with their bloodline than with trainer Bob Baffert. The individual responded, “This one doesn’t seem to be a Baffert problem, it’s an Unbridled’s Song problem.” This comment underlined that these horses’ frailty could be traced back to their genealogy, especially Arrogate who had multiple problems before ever reaching the track.

The individual went on to say that “Whether it’s Arrogate taking forever to get to the track with problems, his son with a minor fracture, or some absolute laundry list of Derby prospects every year by Unbridled’s Song that would have some niggling injury or another and fall by the wayside, this is just annoyingly common for such good-looking horses from this line.” The user made a powerful statement in closing about how delicate these horses are in general, saying, “They can be trained by Baffert, Pletcher, God, or Jesus and still are just incredibly fragile.”

Lastly, a user agreed with the tweet, further noting, “Agree it’s an Unbridled’s Song problem, but Baffert’s methods of train ’em hard and bullet works often don’t help either,” pointing up how certain teaching techniques exacerbate innate problems. Some cite genetics and general industry practices as causes, while others blame Baffert’s training methods. It must take these incidents as an experience and put horse welfare ahead.