Umamusume: Pretty Derby

• 1. Introduction

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  On the 26th of March 2016, a panel at the AnimeJapan event revealed concept art for a cast of racing girls with horse ears and tails. An animated trailer from the studio P.A. Works came with it. This was the first public look at Umamusume: Pretty Derby, a Japanese multimedia franchise created by the company Cygames. It would grow into a mobile game, several anime series, manga, live concerts and a stage play. It would also draw costumed fans to racetracks on several continents. This documentary asks what kind of world those horse girls live in, and why so many of them carry the names of real racehorses. It asks how the game plays, why it arrived years later than first promised, and how players abroad received it. And it asks what the sport of horse racing made of all the attention.

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• 2. Tracen Academy on Screen

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  At Tracen Academy in Tokyo, the students are Umamusume, female characters with the ears, tails and abilities of horses. They live alongside humans in a world much like our own, and they fill the place that real horses hold in ours. Their goal is fame and fortune as both racers and idols. They train for the Twinkle Series, a circuit of professional races run by the Umamusume Racing Association, or URA.

  Almost every Umamusume is named and themed after an actual racehorse, past or present. Each character mirrors her namesake's personality, racing record and relationships with other horses. The races themselves echo middle-distance and long-distance track events, and they take inspiration from real courses managed by the Japan Racing Association. The main stories each follow one character and loosely track the career of the horse behind her.

  The main anime series follows Umamusume on Team Spica, a racing team at the academy. Each season picks up right after the one before it, but the history underneath changes with the featured character. Season one belongs to Special Week, who wants to be the best Umamusume in Japan. She idolizes Silence Suzuka, and her friends include King Halo, El Condor Pasa, Seiun Sky and Grass Wonder. Her story draws on races from 1997 to 1999.

  Season two turns to Tokai Teio. Several injuries threaten her career, yet she keeps fighting to stay among the best of a generation that includes Mejiro McQueen, Rice Shower and Mihono Bourbon. Her story is based on races from 1991 to 1993. Season three centers on Kitasan Black, who wants to win on her own merits. A friendly rivalry with Satono Diamond shapes her path, and a newer generation arrives in Duramente, Satono Crown and Cheval Grand. That season draws on races from 2015 to 2017.

  Two more entries, Road to the Top and Beginning of a New Era, give rivalry-driven stories to Narita Top Road and Jungle Pocket. Narita Top Road faces T. M. Opera O and Admire Vega. Jungle Pocket faces Agnes Tachyon, Manhattan Cafe and Dantsu Flame. Both stories are based on the Classic races of 1999 and 2001.

  The television series ran from April 2018 to December 2023 across three seasons, and Crunchyroll streamed it. P.A. Works produced the first season. Studio Kai worked on the second and third, with P.A. Works assisting on the second. Around the main series sit three spin-off short series, one ONA, one film and one spin-off anime series. Some of the franchise's racing stories were told in print instead.

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• 3. Page, Stage, and Concerts

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  The first manga, Umamusume: Pretty Derby - Haru Urara Ganbaru!, began on the 8th of May 2016, the launch day of Cygames' website. It ended that September after 10 chapters. Its lead is the anthropomorphized version of the real racehorse Haru Urara. The series is no longer available and has never been collected in tankōbon form.

  Starting Gate! Umamusume: Pretty Derby, by S. Kosugi, ran on the Cycomi website from the 25th of March 2017 to the 23rd of November 2019. It is set before the characters debut as racers, and it follows their school life. The setting comes from a CD drama called Special Today! Kodansha published four volumes between July 2017 and March 2019. Shogakukan later released a new edition digitally from July 2020, adding a fifth and sixth volume in June and July 2021.

  Umayon is a four-panel comic by Jet Kuma, with storyboards by Jin Itō. It ran from the 30th of March 2018 to the 15th of January 2021. Its chapters were collected in a booklet packed with the anime's Blu-ray release on the 8th of December 2021.

  Cinderella Gray ran in Shueisha's Weekly Young Jump from the 11th of June 2020 to the 25th of December 2025. Masafumi Sugiura wrote it and Taiyō Kuzumi illustrated it, with Junnosuke Itō as producer. Its hero is Oguri Cap, who moves from the regional racing scene into the Twinkle Series. Her rivals include Tamamo Cross, Inari One and Super Creek. The story follows races from 1987 to 1990, and twenty-three volumes have been released.

  Star Blossom began on the 10th of April 2023 in Shueisha's Shōnen Jump+, the YanJan! app and the Tonari no Young Jump website. Monjūsaki wrote it and Shin Hotani illustrated it. Sakura Laurel has a fragile body, yet she hopes to beat Narita Brian and race at the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe. Her peers include Sakura Bakushin O, Mayano Top Gun and Marvelous Sunday. The story covers races from 1994 to 1997.

  Two lighter series round out the shelf. Uma Musumeshi, written by Tsukumo Asakusa, began on the 1st of March 2023 and focuses on the food of the Umamusume. PisuPisu Supi Supi Golshi-chan, by Naoki Shibata, began on the 29th of November 2023 in the Weekly CoroCoro Comic website. It is a gag comedy about Gold Ship as a kindergartener.

  The franchise also went to the theater. A stage play ran from the 15th to the 29th of January 2023 at Stellar Ball in the Shinagawa Prince Hotel in Tokyo. Performances from the 16th to the 26th were canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the run resumed on the 27th. Its lead is Daitaku Helios, and the story leads up to the 1991 Sprinters Stakes.

  Live concerts are numbered. The 1st Event, "Special Weekend!", took place on the 1st of July 2017, and the 2nd, "Sound Fanfare!", on the 14th of October 2018. The 3rd, "Winning Dream Stage", ran on the 28th and the 29th of August 2021. The 4th, "Special Dreamers!!", visited Tokyo, Yokohama and an extra stage in November 2022. The 5th was an arena tour called "Go Beyond" with four stages between July 2023 and March 2024. The 6th, "The New Frontier", held spring and autumn performances in 2025. The 7th, a World Tour called "The Stage", is set for Tokyo on the 20th and the 21st of June 2026.

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• 4. Training the Horse Girls

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  In the game, the player is called a trainer, and the job is to raise Umamusume and help each one reach her own goals. Players collect two kinds of units through a gacha system, which is a randomized draw. One kind is the playable Umamusume, called trainees. The other is support cards, which supply skills and bonuses.

  The main mode is called Career. The player picks a scenario, a trainee and support cards, then works toward set goals. Each trainee has a preferred terrain, track distance and running style, and ignoring them hurts results. The calendar follows the real Japan Racing Association schedule, and every action uses up half a month. Races such as the Japan Cup and the Arima Kinen mirror their real counterparts. Later scenarios open international races, including France's Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe and America's Breeders' Cup.

  Each turn, a player can train one of five attributes: speed, stamina, power, guts or wit. Other choices are resting to restore energy, entering races to earn skill points and fans, visiting the infirmary to cure a negative condition, and recreation to lift the trainee's mood. Mood affects both training and race performance. Random events add stats, skills, buffs or debuffs along the way.

  Goals met or failed, certain stat totals and acquired skills all produce "sparks". Sparks can be handed down as "legacies" so that a later trainee starts stronger in future Career attempts. Beyond Career, players can enter the PvP modes "Team Trials" and "Champion's Meeting", or the "Legend Races", where they race notable Umamusume for rewards and upgrades.

  The main story is split into acts. Act 1 follows Team Sirius as it carries on after the retirement of its star racer and previous trainer. It draws on the 1990s careers of Mejiro McQueen, Rice Shower, Winning Ticket, Narita Brian, Silence Suzuka and Special Week. Gold Ship, Biwa Hayahide and Narita Taishin appear in supporting roles. Act 2 follows Team Ascella and the Tiara Umamusume, who are based on racemares. It draws on the mid-2000s careers of Rhein Kraft, Cesario and Fusaichi Pandora, with King Halo, Air Messiah and Daring Heart in support. Act 2 reached players in March 2024.

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• 5. A Long Road to Launch

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  The 24th of February 2021 was the day the game finally reached phones in Japan. Cygames had planned a late 2018 debut for iOS and Android, but it delayed the game to polish its quality. The Windows version followed on the 10th of March 2021 through DMM Games. Google Play Games came on the 19th of April 2023. Meanwhile, a promotional YouTube channel had launched on the 25th of March 2018, with Gold Ship featured prominently. The roster now stands at 114 playable horse girls at the latest count.

  A spin-off arrived on consoles in between. Umamusume: Pretty Derby - Party Dash is a party game developed by Cygames and Arc System Works. It was announced during a Nintendo Direct on the 21st of June 2023. It released on the 30th of August 2024 for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4 and Steam.

  Asia came next. On the 15th of February 2022, Komoe Game announced a Traditional Chinese version for Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau. Pre-registration opened on the 27th of April, and the game launched on the 27th of June 2022. In South Korea, Kakao Games released the game on the 20th of June 2022. Pre-registration there began on the 28th of April and passed 1 million in ten days. A Korean PC version followed on the 15th of June 2024. Bilibili's Simplified Chinese edition opened pre-registration on the 4th of August 2023, and it also passed 1 million in ten days.

  The English version took longest. On the 24th of June 2024, a Paka Live TV livestream on Pakatube! announced it. To promote it, Cygames signed sponsorship deals with several prominent horse racing events in the United States. It also ran a booth at Churchill Downs where visitors could try a demo. On the 27th of April 2025, another livestream gave the release date and revealed a Steam edition for both the Japanese and English versions. Pre-registration began the next day, and the game launched on the 26th of June 2025.

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• 6. Reviews, Revenue, and Awards

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  On the review aggregator Metacritic, the game holds a rating of "generally favorable". Critics praised the variety on offer and the depth that rewards replaying. They also liked character writing that respects the real horses behind each Umamusume. Complaints centered on the gacha system, which some critics called predatory, and on a difficulty that can overwhelm casual players.

  By December 2021, within ten months of release, the mobile game had ranked ninth among mobile games for the year. By March 2025 it counted among the most profitable mobile games in Japan. The first 30 days of the global release showed how far the audience had spread. Of the revenue in that period, 50.3% came from outside Japan. The United States made up 68% of overseas spending, which works out to 34% of the global total.

  The awards list is long. In 2021 it includes the Google Play Japan Best of 2021 prize for best mobile game, the Japan Game Awards Award for Excellence and a Yahoo Japan Search Awards entry in the culture category. Entries for 2022 include the CEDEC Awards for sound, the Famitsu Dengeki Game Awards in music, voice actor, character and rookie divisions, and the 16th Seiyu Awards. Hitomi Ueda is listed as the voice of Gold Ship, who is listed in the character division. The most recent entries are Best Mobile Game at The Game Awards 2025, the A-Train Award for Best Mobile Game at the 15th New York Game Awards, and Mobile Game of the Year at the 29th Annual D.I.C.E. Awards.

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• 7. The Racetrack Effect

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  In December 2021, Masayuki Gotō, a chairman of the Japan Racing Association, told the magazine Weekly Gallop that he was grateful for the franchise's positive influence on the racing community. Fans began donating to retired horses such as Haru Urara and Nice Nature, whom the franchise had brought back into public view. Stables housing these horses started receiving many visitors, so Cygames published guidelines asking fans to check whether a stable offers tours and to put the horse's wellbeing first. Media observers also credited the franchise with reviving horse-racing pop culture, including idol performances and slice-of-life elements. One song, "Umapyoi Densetsu", inspired covers and dance videos on social media. In January 2023 the Recording Industry Association of Japan gave it a Gold streaming certification for passing 50 million streams.

  Cygames had worried that the niche appeal of Umamusume would limit sales abroad. The June 2025 global launch drew very positive reviews, and Steam showed between 15,000 and 30,000 concurrent players during the first week. Streamers and social media pushed attention toward the real horses behind the characters. Cygames hoped overseas players would take more interest in horse racing itself.

  Cosplayers soon began turning up at racing events around the world, bringing in a younger crowd. In the United States, meet-ups were held at Turf Paradise in Phoenix and at Tampa Bay Downs. Tampa Bay Downs also staged the first cosplay races in North America, after earlier ones in Japan, Southeast Asia and South America. Santa Anita Park hosted meet-ups, including during the Cygames-sponsored American Oaks. Fans also gathered on the day of the Preakness Stakes on the other side of the country. The series has been credited with softening the image of horse racing as "an old man's sport and a gambling den".

  Organizers of the Indonesia Derby endorsed the cosplayers who appeared there. At the Hipódromo de Monterrico in Peru and at Indonesia's Piala Raja Hamengkubuwono X, promoters staged cosplay races and fan art contests portraying local racehorses. Other sports felt the pull as well. A series of cosplays at Denver Broncos games led to a rise in popularity for the NFL team. The Seattle Seahawks have posted fan art of the characters playing football after their victories.

  Cygames also sponsors races directly. Its list includes the American Oaks, the Breeders' Cup Sprint since 2024, the Unbridled Sidney Stakes at Churchill Downs and the Grand Prix de Paris at Longchamp. The Breeders' Cup expressed pride at being added to the Japanese game through a scenario called "Beyond Dreams". To promote it, a Japanese primer on the country's Breeders' Cup efforts was narrated by Miyu Kubota. She voices Loves Only You, the 2021 Filly & Mare Turf winner.

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• 8. Crossovers and Collaborations

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  In August 2021, Cygames and Paramount Pictures announced a Japanese collaboration with Top Gun: Maverick. Mayano Top Gun, whose namesake horse was partly named for the original 1986 film, became a special advertising pilot. She appeared on an alternate version of the movie's poster. Her voice actress, Mio Hoshitani, also interviewed some of the cast and crew.

  On the 20th of July 2022 and again in February 2023, a campaign with Starhorse 4 added background music, chat stamps and a Career scenario called "Grand Masters". It featured Starhorse series race commentator Kiyoshi Sugimoto. Magazines joined in as well. Sports Graphic Number released a collaboration on the 20th of October 2022, and Weekly Gallop followed on the 22nd of October 2023. Both carried special feature articles and illustrations of several characters.

  In May 2025, the franchise was highlighted in an exhibit at the International Museum of the Horse at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, Kentucky. The museum is Smithsonian-affiliated, and the exhibit presented the Japanese horse world, including horses' spiritual and cultural legacy and their sporting roles. The exhibition was also held at Expo 2025 in Osaka. It traveled to the Annecy International Animation Film Festival in France, in collaboration with France Galop, ahead of the Cygames Grand Prix de Paris.

  In October 2025, the Cinderella Gray anime aired on TBS at the same time as The Royal Family, a live-action horse racing drama. Oguri Cap appeared in promotions beside Umamusume versions of Royal Family and Royal Hope, two of the drama's main horses. In April 2026, an April Fools' Day collaboration with Midori no Makibaō and Konami's Bombergirl marked the franchise's anniversaries and the Year of the Horse. Bkub Okawa illustrated it, alongside a Silent Hill f campaign in March.

  Smaller crossovers filled the gaps. Haru Urara and Oguri Cap appeared in Cygames' card game Shadowverse. Love Live!'s 15th anniversary tribute album, released in January 2026, featured Umamusume singers. Tokai Teio, Oguri Cap, Gold Ship, Still in Love and Almond Eye covered "Bokura wa Ima no Naka de" by µ's, the opening theme of the first School Idol Project season. For the 2026 Super GT Series, Pacific Racing Team's BMW M4 carried a livery showing characters from the series.

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