Uma Musume: Cinderella Gray (TV 2)

Michelle My Baby is based on the American racehorse My Big Boy (1983-2012), who won 10 races in his 49-race career and finished fourth at the 1988 Japan Cup. At 195 cm in height, she is the tallest uma musume (beating Hishi Akebono by 15 cm).

Moonlight Lunacy is based on the British racehorse Moon Madness (1983-date of death unknown), who won 10 races in his 24-race career and competed at the Japan Cup twice (fifth in 1987 and sixth in 1988). Moon Madness was a half-sibling of Tony Bin through the British racehorse Kalamoun (1970-1979). Moonlight Lunacy's racing costume is inspired by Moon Madness' owner Lavinia Fitzalan-Howard, Duchess of Norfolk (1916-1995).

Obey Your Master is based on the American racehorse Pay the Butler (1984-1991), who won five races in his 40-race career, including the 1988 Japan Cup. Her name is taken from the lyrics of the Metallica song "Master of Puppets". Pay the Butler retired in 1990 to become a breeding stud in Japan until his death in 1991.

Toni Bianca is based on the Irish racehorse Tony Bin (1983-2000), who won 15 races in his 27-race career. He finished fifth at the 1988 Japan Cup and retired in Japan as a stud horse, with his bloodline including many successful G1 winners such as Winning Ticket (1990-2023), Air Groove (1993-2013), Admire Vega (1996-2004). Jungle Pocket (1998-2021), Admire Groove (2000-2012), Tosen Jordan (foaled February 4, 2006), Curren Chan (foaled March 31, 2007), Copano Rickey (foaled March 24, 2010), Duramente (2012-2021), and Cheval Grand (foaled March 14, 2012).

Ellerslie Pride is based on the New Zealand racehorse Bonecrusher (1982-2015), who won 18 races in his 44-race career and finished eighth at the 1988 Japan Cup. She is named after the Ellerslie Racecourse in Auckland, New Zealand, where Bonecrusher won his first graded race and a bronze statue of him is placed above his burial ground with a plaque reading: "Bonecrusher, the Pride of Ellerslie".

Super Creek's racing costume uses the blue and white colors of the racing silk worn by the jockeys that raced with the real racehorse (1985-2010). Her left boot is white to reference the racehorse's white left rear foot.

The real Gold City (1984-1990) won three races in his 20-race career from 1986 to 1989, with the 1986 Hanshin Sansai Stakes (now Hanshin Juvenile Fillies) being his sole G1 win.

The on-screen kanji for "uma" (馬, "horse") is written differently in the uma musume universe. Traditionally, it has four strokes in the bottom to symbolize the horse's four legs. However, as uma musume are humanoid beings with two legs, the kanji omits two of the four strokes to symbolize the uma musume's two legs.

The 1988 Arima Kinen was previously parodied in Uma Musume: Pretty Derby episode 6 in the form of a donut eating contest that Oguri Cap also wins and Super Creek gets disqualified for swiping half of her donuts on Oguri Cap's plate.

Face No More is based on the racehorse Fate Northern (1983-1989), who won 19 races in his 29-race career from 1986 to 1989. Her name is a play on the American rock band Faith No More. During the All Japan Thoroughbred Cup at Kasamatsu Racecourse on November 23, 1989, Fate Northern suffered a fracture on his left front leg, forcing officials to cancel the race. On December 12, a combination of infections and a high fever left officials with no choice but to euthanize the racehorse.

Fuyuno Nakasumi is based on the racehorse Aranas Monta (1984-date of death unknown), who won five races in his 32-race career from 1986 to 1989.

Inari One's racing costume uses the purple and lavender colors of the racing silk worn by the jockeys that raced with the real racehorse (1984-2016), who won 12 races in his 25-race career from 1986 to 1990. Inari One's rivalry with Oguri Cap and Super Creek dubbed them the "Heisei Trio" that dominated the horse racing scene from 1989 to 1990.

In real life, the 1988 Kikuka-shō, which was depicted in episode 15, not only marked Super Creek's first G1 win, but also the first G1 win of jockey Yutaka Take, who would go on to become the winningest jockey in Japan with 4,549 JRA wins and 201 National Association of Racing (NAR) wins as of 2024.

The scene in episode 17 when Obey Your Master studies the Japan Cup competitors is a reference to Chris McCarron, who jockeyed Pay the Butler. Prior to the 1988 Japan Cup, McCarron acquired every tape recording of races held at the Tokyo Racecourse and, with his extensive research, prepared a strategy to combat Tamamo Cross, who he targeted as the biggest threat to Pay the Butler.

The American uma musume who mocks Obey Your Master in episode 18 is based on the racehorse Sunshine Forever (1985-2014), who defeated Pay the Butler at the 1988 Man o' War Stakes, which was held a month before the Japan Cup. Obey Your Master's trainer is based on Chris McCarron, who jockeyed Pay the Butler at the Japan Cup.

During the Japan Cup in episode 18, Toni Bianca's "zone" features the same rainbow-patterned lines as the ones used by Jungle Pocket in the film Uma Musume Pretty Derby: Beginning of a New Era. This is a reference to Tony Bin's lineage to the real Jungle Pocket (1998-2021). While Tony Bin failed to win the Japan Cup, Jungle Pocket fulfilled that destiny in 2001 while defeating T.M. Opera O (1996-2018), who was seen by many fans as the successor to Oguri Cap.

In episode 18, Ellerslie Pride tells Gold City that winning the Japan Cup is New Zealand's dream. While Bonecrusher failed to win the 1988 Japan Cup, another New Zealand racehorse named Horlicks (1983-2011) defeated Oguri Cap to fulfill that dream a year later. Horlicks would later be adapted into Cinderella Gray as Folkqueen.

In episode 20, Dicta Striker's "zone" features bullet explosions and gunshot sounds as a reference to Soccer Boy (the racehorse who served as the basis for the character) being nicknamed the "Bullet Shot".

In episode 21, Symboli Rudolf tells Oguri Cap to "take it easy". This is a line that American jockey Chris McCarron said to Yukio Okabe, who was the real Symboli Rudolf's jockey for the racehorse's entire career, as well as the real Oguri Cap's jockey for the 1988 Arima Kinen.

In episode 21, Dicta Striker has a late start after hitting the starting gate and is bleeding from her forehead. After the race in episode 22, she realizes she also broke a tooth. This is based on what happened to Soccer Boy at the 1988 Arima Kinen, when he got too excited before the start and hit his head on the starting gate, causing a broken tooth and a nosebleed. This incident also effectively ended the racehorse's career.