Fans of the horse-girl racing game Umamusume: Pretty Derby banded together to help raise funds and save a former racehorse from being euthanized.
Umamusume: Pretty Derby is one of the most popular gacha games on the market right now, boasting a wildly passionate fanbase that diligently trains their favorite horse-girls in the hopes of winning races against other horse-girls.
It’s become so beloved both in Japan and abroad that it spawned an entire anime series and even took home Best Mobile Game at the 2025 Game Awards.
Uma fans are so invested in their horse-girls, which are based on real-life racehorses, that they came together to help save the life of one former racehorse that was facing euthanasia.
Umamusume fans raise funds to save horse from slaughterhouse
‘Risk’ is a retired racehorse who came to the attention of Brazilian anime fan and equestrian athlete ‘Jumping with Ana.’ According to her posts on social media, the horse was suffering from an illness and could no longer compete.
Because of this, Risk’s former owners supposedly sold the horse to a slaughterhouse to take him off their hands. Ana’s posts suggest that the slaughterhouse was willing to sell Risk to a potential buyer before his scheduled euthanization, something that would save him from death.
Ana went into action, posting all over X and Instagram asking for help in raising funds to save Risk’s life. Her posts were asking for 2,800 BRL (around $516 USD) to pay the slaughterhouse and retrieve the horse.
Her most viral fundraising post was published on December 9 — and on December 11, the entire amount had been successfully raised, allowing Ana to rescue Risk and give him a better home.
“With this “opportunism” I managed to save a beautiful little horse,” she wrote in response to a critical user on X. “Life is beautiful and worth saving. It’s not about taking advantage of situations, it’s about doing everything for them.”
Ana attributed this victory in large part to the Umamusume fandom, many of whom were in her comments section helping to spread the word of Risk’s situation.
“The Umamusume fandom SAVED this horse,” she wrote in a tweet responding to PETA condemning the game. “They helped me so much so I could save him.”
“Cygames and Umamusume fans are doing more for animal welfare than you guys,” another replied.
This isn’t the first time Uma fans have banded together to interact with the real racehorses their Umas are based on; in July, the fanbase sent Japanese racehorse Haru Urara a staggering 2,500 kilograms of fresh grass to show their support for the underdog.
