Famous RaceLosing Horse Who Inspired An Umamusume Character Has Died

With a career record of 113 losses and no wins, racehorse Haru Urara became an unintentional pop culture icon in Japan and beyond. The beloved race-losing horse inspired one of Umamusume: Pretty Derby's horse-girl characters, and her death this week has been marked by many well beyond the racing sphere.

After making her debut in 1998, racehorse Haru Urara became famous for her reliable losing streak, becoming a household name across Japan and for some a kind of patron deity for losers who nevertheless refuse to give up.

Haru Urara lends her name and trademark losing streak to one of the characters in Umamusume: Pretty Derby, a game and anime franchise centered around anthropomorphised horse-girls who double as racers and idols. Though the racehorse Haru Urara retired in 2006, the Umamusume character made more people aware of her quirky background, with the anime and game seeing a trend of fans coming to visit the horse where she was spending her retirement at Matha Farm.