The horse racing gacha game Uma Musume: Pretty Derby has made its mark on real-world horse racing. In Indonesia, the interest in the sport has seen a noticeable rise, particularly during the Indonesia Derby 2025 event, held on 27 August 2025 at the Sultan Agung Horse Racing Track in Yogyakarta.
The event’s live stream attracted significant attention from local Uma Musume fans. At the time of writing, the live stream has reached 270,000 views on YouTube, making it the most-watched horse racing livestream on the channel. The comment section was flooded with posts from Uma Musume fans, who filled the chat with game references such as “Umazing!”, “Indonesia’s Symboli Rudolf”, “Got hit by Go with the Flow skill,” and many more.
The game’s influence also extended beyond YouTube. Several Indonesian illustrators have shared their own Uma Musume-style characters based on the legendary local racehorses, including King Argentine, Princess Gavi, and Wonder Land.
Interestingly, the organisers of the Indonesia Derby 2025, Sarga.co, responded positively. They actively engaged with fan comments on social media. There is also an increase in views on their horse racing content on YouTube, a trend that has continued since the game’s release.
In addition to being a sign of renewed public interest, the Indonesia Derby 2025 also marked a historic milestone for the sport. This year’s race crowned a new champion: King Argentine, representing King Halim Stable. King Argentine’s victory was particularly noteworthy, ending an eleven-year drought with no horse managing to secure the Indonesian Triple Crown title.
Uma Musume: Pretty Derby is a Japanese video game developed by Cygames. The game features anthropomorphised racehorses that are inspired by real-life racehorses. Originally released as a mobile game in 2016, the game was finally released on PC in June 2025 alongside its global release.
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The Indonesian Anime Times | Source Gamebrott & Pordasi.ID
