Haru Urara, the real-life inspiration behind an Umamusume Pretty Derby character, has passed away

Haru Urara, the iconic racehorse that inspired the character in Umamusume Pretty Derby, has passed away on September 9, 2025, at the age of 29. She was a cultural icon in Japan and was admired by many for her determination. She inspired one of the characters in Umamusum Pretty Derby with the same name, and had a similar in-game lore as well.

On that note, here’s everything you need to know about Haru Urara and what the game developers had to say about this news.

Umamusume Pretty Derby devs react to the news of Haru Urara's passing

According to some reports, Haru Urara passed away due to colic, a common but dangerous condition in horses. The developers shared this news via X, describing her as a legend whose story inspired the game. They also said:

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"We share our condolences to all the staff involved in Haru Urara's care."

For those who don't know, Haru Urara was born in 1996 in Hokkaido, Japan, and started racing in 1998. She quickly became really popular in the whole country, but for an unusual reason: losing over 100 consecutive races. Her constant efforts made her beloved across Japan, and she became a symbol of never giving up and constantly trying.

This reputation carried forward into the game, Umamusume Pretty Derby, where Haru Urara is portrayed as a cheerful character who doesn't achieve many victories but is always positive. She features a bright pink and vibrant outfit, which is also directly inspired from the horse's iconic pink Hello Kitty facemask. The developers also seem to potray her as the symbol of perseverance and optimism in the game, just like in real life.

That’s everything you need to know about Haru Urara. She will always be remembered not for victories on the track, but for her charm and resilience. Her story lives on through Umamusume.

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About the author

Harshit Singh is a gaming journalist at Sportskeeda, with Fortnite, Counter-Strike 2, and Marvel Rivals being his areas of specialization. A final-year B.Des (Visual Communication) student at Delhi Technological University, he is always eager to pursue creative endeavors. Harshit aims to deliver news and up-to-date content promptly to players around the globe. To that end, he acquires information from reliable forums and social media pages and religiously tracks the latest coverage of Fortnite — a game he has been playing since 2018. He is often found testing the new meta in-game or spectating competitive tournaments.

Harshit holds a deep love for video games, which stemmed from the hours he spent playing GTA Vice City, NFS Most Wanted 2005, FlatOut 2, and Total Overdose in his school days. Currently, he is veering towards story-driven, single-player games, with Red Dead Redemption 2 being one of his favorites.

Harshit is an ardent fan of esports titles like CS, Rocket League, and Valorant, with Fnatic, EDG, G2, and Astralis being a few of his favorite orgs. Counter-Strike pro Xantares and Benjifishy, an esports athlete who has mastered both Fortnite and Valorant, are inspirational figures for him.

Harshit works as a music producer under the alias Hysaze. He is extremely passionate about EDM and has garnered over 40 million streams across all platforms. He is also a regular contributor to Fandom’s EDM Wiki.

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Edited by Abu Amjad Khan