Uma Musume Pretty Derby (TV)

The storyline of season 1 is inspired by the career of racehorse Special Week (1995-2018), who won 10 out of 17 races from 1997 to 1999. Those years were also known as the Golden Age of Japanese horse racing.

While nearly all of the uma musume are based on Japanese racehorses, Broye is based on Montjeu (1996-2012), an Irish-bred, French-trained thoroughbred that won 11 out of 16 races from 1998 to 2000. In keeping with Broye's French theme, she is designed after Oscar François de Jarjayes from The Rose of Versailles.

Tracen Academy's motto is "Eclipse first, the rest nowhere", which is a reference to the legendary English racehorse Eclipse (1764-1789), who was undefeated in his 18-race career.

Former jockey and horse racing commentator Junko Hosoe voices a fictional version of herself in the series. During the 1990s, she was the first female jockey in the history of Japanese horse racing.

Special Week being raised by a human is based on the story of the real racehorse, who had to be hand-fed by stable staff after his dam (mother) Campaign Girl died shortly after giving birth. Her human mother is a stand-in for the stable staff and the draft horse that raised the real horse.

The colors and design of Special Week's racing costume pay homage to jockey Yutaka Take, who rode the real Special Week to multiple championships. The two Golden Glover medals represent the real horse's four G1 race wins.

Tazuna Hayakawa, who works as the director's secretary at Tracen Academy, has been suspected of being an uma musume herself. The art book for season 1 has a picture of her with horse ears, but this was never used in the anime. Furthermore, in the video game, Tazuna is able to catch Taiki Shuttle during curfew. Other hints include her pondering about having a double-life while watching a spy movie, as well as an announcement for a movie titled "The Phantom Uma Musume" (a reference to the 1955 film The Phantom Horse). Many of Tazuna's characteristics were inspired by the legendary Japanese racehorse Tokino Minoru (1948-1951), from sharing the same birthday to her uniform using the green and black colors of Mitsumasa Iwashita, Minoru's jockey.

Haruna Ikezawa, who voiced Broye, previously appeared as an assistant on the TV program NHK Speaking in French, which prepared her for the character's French dialogue.

In real life, Gold Ship (foaled March 6, 2009) is a descendant of Mejiro McQueen (1987-2006); hence the unusual relationship of their anime counterparts.

Silence Suzuka's racing costume uses the white and green colors worn by the real horse. She wears a brown left shoe and a white right shoe, as the real horse had a brown rear-left leg while the other legs were white. Her green and yellow ornament is a nod to the one worn by the real horse.

Kunihide Matsuda, the owner of the real Daiwa Scarlet (foaled May 13, 2004) granted Cygames permission to use the name for the uma musume character, on the condition that her design be sexier than her rival Vodka. Daiwa Scarlet's racing costume is white and blue, after the racing silk worn by the jockeys that raced with the real horse.

The series was first previewed through a short promotion movie in 2016. In the video, the characters did not have their racing costumes and wore track outfits instead. Daiwa Scarlet was seen having both human and horse ears. A romance subplot between Symboli Rudolf and Oguri Cap was hinted in the video, but never materialized in the series after the owners of the real racehorses were allegedly offended by the subplot and threatened to pull out of the project. An uma musume wearing a face mask was the original design for Orfevre. Characters based on King Kamehameha and Deep Impact were also featured, but ultimately scrapped in the final product. The owners of King Kamehameha were not pleased with the scene when the character was hitting on Hishi Amazon. Meanwhile, the owners of Deep Impact reportedly retracted their license, as they were afraid the horse's 2006 doping scandal would be adapted into the series.

If an uma musume has an accessory on her right ear, her original horse was a stallion (male). An accessory on her left ear indicates that her original horse was a mare (female).

Oguri Cap's diamond-patterned headband is a nod to the racing silk worn by several jockeys who competed with the real horse.

Narita Brian's racing costume is primarily colored pink after the racing silk worn by the jockeys that raced with the real horse (1991-1998), who received the Japanese Horse of the Year award in 1994.

The yellow and blue tank top on Vodka's racing costume references the colors of the racing silk worn by the jockeys that raced with the real horse (2004-2019). Vodka became the first mare to win the Japanese Horse of the Year award twice: in 2008 and 2009.

El Condor Pasa's racing costume references the red and yellow racing silk worn by the jockeys who raced with the real horse (1995-2002) and is themed after lucha libre (Mexican professional wrestling). The original horse was named after the Peruvian folk song "El Cóndor Pasa", which was made popular by Simon and Garfunkel in 1970. In 1999, El Condor Pasa received the Japanese Horse of the Year award.

A vast majority of the racehorses who served as the basis for the characters in the whole franchise are related as descendants of the American racehorse Sunday Silence (1986-2002), who won nine of his 14 races before retiring as the leading sire in Japan from 1995 to 2008. Notable progeny that have won major races include Special Week, Silence Suzuka, Admire Vega, Agnes Tachyon, Manhattan Cafe, Still in Love, Zenno Rob Roy, Gold Ship, Kitasan Black, Satono Diamond, and Duramente.

Several racehorses that inspired other characters in the franchise are related as descendants of the Canadian racehorse Northern Dancer (1961-1990), who won 14 out of 18 races in his career before becoming one of the most successful sires of the 20th century. Notable descendants include Maruzensky, Super Creek, Tokai Teio, Air Groove, El Condor Pasa, Grass Wonder, Haru Urara, Agnes Tachyon, Daiwa Scarlet, Biwa Hayahide, Narita Brian, Narita Top Road, Sakura Bakushin O, Kitasan Black, Cheval Grand, Verxina, and Vivlos. Northern Dancer's son Northern Taste (1971-2004) was the leading sire in Japan from 1982 to 1983 and from 1985 to 1992.

Haru Urara being in a different class from the main cast, as well as making only brief appearances, is a loose reference to the real racehorse (1996-2025) not having raced in the Japan Racing Association (JRA).

In real life, Special Week had a fierce rivalry with Grass Wonder (1995-2025). Special Week never defeated Grass Wonder, even in his final race at the 1999 Arima Kinen.

The real Mejiro McQueen was named after American actor Steve McQueen.

Mejiro Ryan's racing costume features a striped shirt as a reference to the New York Mets, as the real racehorse (1987-2016) was named after American baseball legend Nolan Ryan.

In real life, Mejiro Dober (foaled May 6, 1994) is the daughter of Mejiro Ryan.

The real Symboli Rudolf (1981-2011) was nicknamed "Emperor" (皇帝, Kōtei) for his dominant career, with 13 wins in his 16-race career - including the 1984 Japanese Classic Triple Crown (Satsuki Shō, Tōkyō Yūshun, and Kikuka-shō), as well as Japanese Horse of the Year award in 1984 and 1985. He was also named after Rudolf I of Germany. The uma musume incarnation wears a green racing costume as a reference to the racing silk worn by the jockeys who raced with the racehorse. The real Symboli Rudolf's progeny includes Tokai Teio and Tsurumaru Tsuyoshi.

The statue of the Three Goddesses at Tracen Academy are based on the legendary racehorses Byerly Turk (1680-1703), Darley Arabian (1700-1730), and Godolphin Arabian (1724-1753); all three stallions founded the modern thoroughbred horse racing bloodstock.

The real Air Groove (1993-2013) was nicknamed "Empress" (皇后) for her dominant performance during her career - especially against male horses. In her 19-race career from 1995 to 1998, she won nine races, including the 1995 Hanshin Juvenile Fillies, the 1996 Yushun Himba (Japanese Oaks), and the 1997 Autumn Tenno Sho. In 1997, Air Groove became the first mare to receive the Japanese Horse of the Year award.

Former jockey and horse racing commentator Yutaka Take makes a cameo appearance as himself in episode 5. He is the most successful jockey in Japanese horse racing history, having a total of 4,549 wins under the JRA and 201 wins under the National Association of Racing (NAR).

The reason why El Condor Pasa and Grass Wonder are almost always seen together is because their real-life counterparts were American-born. Despite being owned by Japanese businesses, both racehorses were barred from participating at the Japanese Derby and other Classic races, as the JRA rules at the time did not allow foreign-born racehorses to compete in the Classic races. The dead heat finish at the Japanese Derby in episode 5 is purely fictional, as the real Special Week won the race in 1998.

In episode 6, Gold Ship ties a ribbon around Mejiro McQueen's tail. In horse racing, ribbons are used to warn people that the racehorse has a tendency to kick.

The donut-eating contest in episode 6 is loosely based on the 1988 Arima Kinen, which the real Oguri Cap won after Super Creek was disqualified for skewing and blocking the path of Mejiro Durren before the finish line. The race itself was re-enacted in Uma Musume: Cinderella Gray.

The race in episode 7 is based on the 1998 Autumn Tennō Shō, when the real Silence Suzuka suffered a compound fracture on his left front leg while leading the race. After a veterinarian determined that the fracture could not be properly healed, officials set up a tent at the racecourse and euthanized the four-year-old horse. El Condor Pasa winning the race is fictional, as the real racehorse was ineligible to participate at JRA Classic races such as the Tennō Shō due to his foreign birth.

The race in episode 12 is based on the 1998 Japan Cup. In the real race, Montjeu, who was the basis for Broye, not only lost to Special Week, but finished fourth.