50 Fun Facts About Uma Musume Pretty Derby

Which cheerful Uma Musume character is based on a real mare who lost all 113 of her races?

Haru Urara became a symbol of perseverance across Japan in 2003, when news coverage of her unbroken losing streak turned her into a household name.

Which mischievous Uma Musume prankster is depicted as the owner of the franchise's official YouTube channel?

Gold Ship takes after a famously erratic real racehorse, whose panic in the starting stalls in 2015 is remembered as the 12 billion yen incident.

Which Uma Musume character turns shy and timid whenever she takes off her luchador mask?

El Condor Pasa is confident, passionate and energetic with the mask on. Her real namesake led the 1999 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe until the last 100 metres.

In Uma Musume, what does the side of a character's ear accessory reveal about her real-life namesake?

Male or female is what it shows: an accessory on the viewer's right marks a mare, and one on the viewer's left marks a stallion.

Which Uma Musume student council president is based on a colt dubbed the Emperor who won the Triple Crown unbeaten?

Symboli Rudolf tries to seem approachable despite her reputation by cracking puns and dad jokes, which amuse some students and exasperate others.

Which big-eating Uma Musume heroine of Cinderella Gray transfers from regional Kasamatsu to the national races?

Oguri Cap earns the nickname Gray Monster on the track, yet off it she is so hungry that she regularly empties cafeterias of their food.

Which Uma Musume character fights back from repeated injuries as the protagonist of the anime's second season?

Tokai Teio's comeback ends at the 1993 Arima Kinen, and the season finale reuses the actual words of the real race's broadcast call.

Which Uma Musume front-runner is Special Week's roommate and idol in the anime's first season?

Silence Suzuka wants only to run ahead of everyone, as fast and as far as she can, and later in the anime she leaves to race in the United States.

Which Japanese company, also the maker of Granblue Fantasy, created the Uma Musume Pretty Derby franchise?

Cygames announced the project as a mobile game in 2016 and planned a 2018 launch, then held it back until February 2021 to polish it further.

Which heroine of the Uma Musume anime's third season is based on a horse owned by a famous enka singer?

Kitasan Black first appears in the second season as a devoted fan of an older star, then leads the third in a story drawn from her namesake's races of 2015 to 2017.

Which petite Uma Musume character with a secret sweet tooth is co-protagonist of the anime's second season?

Mejiro McQueen comes from a prestigious racing family and can seem snobbish at first glance, but she is responsible, kind-hearted and a regular target of a classmate's antics.

Which gloomy Uma Musume character races in a dark dress and bowler hat with a blue rose motif?

Rice Shower is jeered in the anime for beating crowd favourites to historic wins, just as her real namesake was, though the fans come round in later episodes.

Which Uma Musume character, nicknamed Cyborg, is banned from vending machines because electronics break at her touch?

Mihono Bourbon shares the Cyborg nickname with her real namesake, and her gadget-killing touch forces her whole family to live an analog lifestyle.

Which blue-haired Uma Musume character on Team Canopus runs flat out from the start at any distance?

Twin Turbo usually tires herself out, and her blue hair comes from the colour of her real namesake's racing mask rather than from his coat.

Which cynical Uma Musume character is based on a horse nicknamed the Bronze Collector for his many third places?

Nice Nature's namesake finished third in the Arima Kinen three years running, from 1991 to 1993, and in the game she slowly learns to trust her fans' support.

Which Uma Musume team has a trainer who scouts runners by examining their legs and gets kicked in the face?

Team Spica is the squad the main anime follows through all three seasons, and in the first its chief rival is Team Rigil, founded by trainer Hana Tojo.

On which Japanese island was Special Week raised before she enrolled at Tracen Academy in Uma Musume?

Hokkaido was so quiet for Special Week that she never met another Umamusume until she enrolled, and her human mother raised her to be the best in the country.

Which Uma Musume character is fond of bananas and unusually self-conscious about the size of her head?

Biwa Hayahide looks every inch the cool, intelligent student, and she is the older sister of student council vice president Narita Brian.

Which tomboyish Uma Musume character idolises Tanino Gimlet and bickers constantly with her roommate Daiwa Scarlet?

Vodka's hero worship echoes real life: Tanino Gimlet sired the real Vodka, whose owner wanted a name stronger than her father's, which came from the gimlet cocktail.

Which Uma Musume character drives a red Lamborghini Countach, a nod to her real namesake's Supercar nickname?

Maruzensky is also the butt of a running gag about her age and her dated tastes, because she is based on one of the oldest racehorses in the cast.

Which Uma Musume character is a mad scientist who pesters her lab partner to be the guinea pig for her experiments?

Agnes Tachyon is based on a colt who won all four of his races before a tendon injury ended his career, which led newspapers to call him a phantom Triple Crown winner.

Which dark-haired Uma Musume character keeps company with an unseen ghostly friend whom she aims to surpass?

Manhattan Cafe's companion resembles her, likely a nod to the real horse's famous sire, and she is an avid coffee drinker with a strong dislike of tea.

Which delinquent Uma Musume racer, inspired by watching Fuji Kiseki win, is the heroine of Beginning of a New Era?

Jungle Pocket's film is loosely based on the 2001 Classic races, and it ends with her overcoming her self-doubt to win the Japan Cup against the era's dominant champion.

Which flamboyant Uma Musume character in Road to the Top is called the Conqueror of the Century's End?

T. M. Opera O earns the title: her real namesake went unbeaten through eight starts in 2000 and retired as the world's all-time leading money earner.

Which small, frugal Uma Musume character from a poor family becomes a major rival of Cinderella Gray's heroine?

Tamamo Cross speaks in a Kansai dialect, which the global release of the mobile game turns into a New York accent.

Which motherly Uma Musume character, whose family runs a daycare centre, cannot resist coddling smaller runners?

Super Creek's doting is said to echo her real namesake's bond with jockey Yutaka Take, who won his first top-level race on the horse.

Which wealthy Uma Musume character hopes to break her family's jinx of never winning a top-level G1 race?

Satono Diamond shares a room with her childhood friend and rival, the heroine of the anime's third season, in which she serves as co-protagonist.

What is the name of the professional racing circuit that Tracen Academy students train to enter in Uma Musume?

The Twinkle Series is organised by the Umamusume Racing Association, and in the game its calendar follows the real schedule of Japanese racing.

Which of these is one of the five attributes that players raise in the Uma Musume Pretty Derby game's training?

Guts sits alongside speed, stamina, power and wit, and every training turn in Career mode uses up half a month of the in-game calendar.

In which Japanese city is the elite Tracen Academy of Uma Musume Pretty Derby located?

Tokyo hosts the central Tracen Academy, while a smaller regional Tracen school in Kasamatsu is where the story of Cinderella Gray begins.

Which towering Uma Musume character is a 180 cm chef who once hoped to become a sumo wrestler?

Hishi Akebono is an exchange student who chose racing and cooking over the sumo ring, and the portions she serves are a lot for her small roommate, Biko Pegasus.

Which Uma Musume character is strong enough to compress a steel ball into a tiny bead?

Gentildonna can also crack a walnut with a single toe, and she holds meritocratic views, welcoming only the challengers she deems worthy.

Which Uma Musume character is a social media influencer devoted to the pursuit of cuteness?

Curren Chan is the roommate and close friend of Admire Vega, one of the three rivals at the centre of Road to the Top.

Which white-haired Uma Musume opponent in the URA Finals is an original character with no real racehorse behind her?

Happy Meek trains under Aoi Kiryuin, who comes from a prestigious family of trainers yet struggles to bring out her full potential.

Which Tracen Academy secretary in Uma Musume is thought to be modelled on the racehorse Tokino Minoru?

Tazuna Hayakawa is listed as human, yet she shares the horse's May 2 birthday, dresses in the colours his jockey wore and can chase down one of the academy's milers.

Which petite Uma Musume character, who carries a hand fan and wears a cat on her hat, is Tracen Academy's director?

Yayoi Akikawa is human, but her design is inspired by the Canadian racehorse Northern Taste, and she often speaks in archaic Japanese.

Which Uma Musume class representative dominates sprint races but lacks the stamina for anything beyond a mile?

Sakura Bakushin O dreams of conquering every race distance all the same, and she is obsessed with being a role model for the other students.

Which Uma Musume gyaru, given zoomer slang in the English release, leads the stage play Sprinters' Story?

Daitaku Helios stars in a story built around the 1991 Sprinters Stakes, and her crush on a refined rival she calls Lady is turned down every time.

Which studio made the first season of the Uma Musume anime, having also animated the 2016 announcement trailer?

P.A. Works handed the second season to Studio Kai while assisting on its production, and Studio Kai then made the third on its own.

At which American racetrack did the makers of Uma Musume run a booth with a playable demo before the English release?

Churchill Downs, the home of the Kentucky Derby since 1875, hosted the booth as part of sponsorship deals with several prominent American racing events.

Which straight-faced Uma Musume character is obsessed with speed and straight lines and has a strong dislike of curves?

Calstone Light O is based on a sprinter who set a course record in the Ibis Summer Dash, a 1,000-metre race at Niigata that is run entirely in a straight line.

Which refined Uma Musume character's career mode can turn the screen red and glitchy as bloodlust consumes her?

Still in Love hides a predator's instincts behind a graceful manner and a sweet tooth, and the red-tinted, distorted interface is an option players can switch on.

Which Uma Musume character, prone to floods of tears, dreams of the Japanese Derby that her real namesake took in 1993?

Winning Ticket belongs to the BNW trio with two close friends, a name borrowed from three real colts who fought one another for the 1993 classics.

Which Uma Musume character photobombs any camera she sees and asks the player to always remember her?

Aston Machan is a doctor's daughter with a fear of being forgotten, and her ambition is to become the world's most beloved mascot.

Which strict Uma Musume student council vice president, known as the Empress, keeps a watchful eye on junior Duramente?

Air Groove's soft spot for Duramente follows the pedigree: the real Air Groove was the mother of Admire Groove, who in turn was Duramente's dam.

Which haughty Uma Musume rival of Special Week joins Team Ascella as a main character in Part 2 of the game's story?

King Halo hides real empathy behind the pride, and her fan club of juniors is led by Kawakami Princess, whose real namesake was sired by the real King Halo.

Which upbeat Uma Musume character in Star Blossom has unexplained powers such as telepathy and a dimension of her own?

Marvelous Sunday spreads positivity because she survived a life-threatening illness in early childhood, an echo of her real namesake's own story.

Which treatment does masked doctor Sasami Anshinzawa offer trainees at the infirmary in the Uma Musume game?

Acupuncture from her is a gamble that either lifts a trainee's stats or sends her mood crashing, and her bamboo needles were once a real remedy for racehorses.

Where does Vivlos, the youngest of the three V Sisters in Uma Musume, dream of living and racing?

Dubai is where the real Vivlos beat an international field in the 2017 Dubai Turf, and the character fell for the city on a childhood family holiday.

Which title for sweeping the three big races for fillies does Team Rigil's Daring Tact hold in the Uma Musume anime?

The Triple Tiara went to the real Daring Tact in 2020, when she became the first filly to complete the sweep while still undefeated.