Uma Musume Pretty Derby: Road to the Top (ONA)

The series is based on the real-life rivalry between Narita Top Road (1996-2005), Admire Vega (1996-2004), and T.M. Opera O (1996-2018) during the 1999 JRA season.

Admire Vega's visions of a ghost sister is based on the life of the real horse, whose dam (mother) Vega (1990-2006) carried twins, but one of them was forcibly aborted, as twin horses were deemed to perform poorly in horse racing.

Narita Top Road's racing costume is primarily colored pink after the racing silk worn by the jockeys that raced with the real horse.

Admire Vega's racing costume is colored dark blue and light blue after the racing silk worn by the jockeys that raced with the real horse. The eight buttons on the front signify the real horse's eight races in his short career.

The real T.M. Opera O's name has three origins: "T.M." were the initials of his owner Takezono Masatsugu, "Opera" was from his sire (father) Opera House, and "O" (王) is Japanese for "King". The racehorse's performance earned him the Japanese Horse of the Year award in 2000.

There is a hidden connection between T.M. Opera O and Oguri Cap that explains their interaction in the ONA series. In real life, Oguri Cap was prohibited from competing in the JRA's Classic races such as the Satsuki Shō, Tōkyō Yūshun (Japanese Derby), and Kikuka-shō after his owners failed to submit his registration before the due date. Due to the public outcry over Oguri Cap's absence in the Classic races, the JRA revised the rules in 1992 (one year after Oguri Cap retired) to allow late registrants to run the Classic races for a heavy fee. T.M. Opera O became the first racehorse to benefit from this rule revision in 1999, as he was registered late due to an injury.

In real life, Narita Top Road, Admire Vega, and T.M. Opera O were related as descendants of the legendary Canadian racehorse Northern Dancer (1961-1990).

The Uma Musume Pretty Derby logo for this installment features a silhouette of Narita Top Road.

The real Curren Chan (foaled March 31, 2007) won nine out of 18 races from 2010 to 2012, including five consecutive races in 2011. She also won the JRA Award for Best Sprinter or Miler in 2011 and the JRA Award for Best Older Filly or Mare in 2012.

The real Meisho Doto (foaled March 25, 1996) won 10 out of 27 races from 1999 to 2001 and was best known for his rivalry with T.M. Opera O from 2000 to 2001.