• Uma Musume Pretty Derby is set to team up with the prestigious US-based Breeders’ Cup Sprint
• This contest will see Cygames feature in the race’s title of this $2m race
• Uma Musume’s hotly-anticipated English launch seems to be at least part of the inspiration

Well, it must be an unusual day for horse racing fans in the United States as they awoke to find out that the prestigious Breeders’ Cup has partnered with Cygames’ horse-girl racing series Uma Musume Pretty Derby. Yes, come November, the inaugural Cygames Breeders’ Cup Sprint will be held at the 2024 Breeders’ Cup World Championships.

Of course, this isn’t exactly surprising given that Uma Musume Pretty Derby’s core conceit is that it’s set in a world where rather than horses it’s horse girls racing around these tracks. Even so, it’s still quite a surprise given the rarity of seeing video games partner with organisations like this, let alone a Japanese company like Cygames.

But this isn’t without precedent for them either, as Cygames and Uma Musume have been a long-time sponsor of the Retired Horse Association of Japan which, as you might expect, takes care of retired racehorses. With Uma Musume’s upcoming English release still yet to receive a solid date, it seems that Cygames are still gearing up to get the franchise’s name out there.

Dashing fun

It’s certainly fair to say that we’ve come a long way since the days when anime and Japanese games were firmly a niche affair. Now, arguably many of these companies are taking a bolder foot forward with collaborations that aren’t just covering collectibles like posters or energy drinks, but bona-fide mainstream (and somewhat non-gaming-centric) subjects like horse racing.

If you’re looking for something to tide you over ahead of Uma Musume’s highly-anticipated western release, then don’t fret. Why not check out our list of the best mobile games of 2024 (so far) for some options?

Better yet you can always dig into our other list of the top 25 free-to-play games on iOS and Android for games you don’t need to spend a dime on!