If you’re a fan of the Umamusume franchise, you’ve heard of cosplay races. What started as spontaneous events in Southeast Asia has quickly spread into a global phenomenon. Since we at Anime Corner appreciate all things otaku, we’ve happily covered as many events as we could. Today, we have the privilege of covering the first US-based, Downs-backed cosplay race. Hosted by Pinky and Jams in conjunction with Tampa Bay Downs on April 18, the Umamusume Tampa Bay Downs meetup was a piece of American anime history. Here’s what they had to say, along with a little insight into all things Uma.
Five years ago, almost no horse racing aficionado outside of Japan knew of Umamusume or its parent company, Cygames, Inc. Now, you’ll regularly see the company and franchise logo at some of the biggest horse racing events like the Kentucky Derby, Grand Prix de Paris, and Breeders’ Cup.
The love the franchise gets is outstanding. All over the world, fans of the franchise have descended on horse racing tracks dressed as their favorite characters and raced each other. And while this may sound like something that occurs in isolated events, racing clubs and tracks welcome it. Yet despite Cygames sponsoring several US-based races, there hadn’t been a US club-backed event until the Tampa Bay Downs meet. So when one finally happened, we at Anime Corner had to talk to the organizers.
⚠ Parts of this interview were edited for brevity. ⚠
Q: Could you tell us how the event came about?
Pinky: “My dad frequents the racetrack, so one day we tagged along with him while in cosplay, and we got such a good reaction from people that we thought it would be fun to get more people together. We were able to get the contact of Margo (Tampa Bay Downs) in events, and Jams started emailing her to work something out.”
Q: Why was Tampa Bay Downs chosen as the event venue? What was it like working with them?
Pinky: “I’m a Tampa native and I’ve been going to the Tampa Bay Downs track with my family since I was a kid, so it’s a place I’m really familiar with! Also, since it’s in Central Florida, it made it easier for people from different parts of the country to travel there.”
Q: How does it feel to be the first organizer in the US to host a cosplay event with a race club’s backing?
Pinky: “Kinda wild! I didn’t realize we were the first ones until the day of the event. Everyone on staff at the Tampa Bay Downs was incredible to us.”
Jams: Someone pointed out that none of the other US-based meetups were able to run on the track, and I thought, “Surely not, right?” But turns out it was true! Hosting this still feels like a dream. I’m still riding that high, honestly!
Q: We’ve covered some of these events in the past, and every organizer and racing club was surprised by how well they were received. What was the experience in Tampa like?
Pinky: “I absolutely didn’t expect the turnout. Some people endured pretty long drives to hang out, which was really cool. You never know when you plan something online if people will show up. But it was so incredible to see how many people came out and were excited for it!”
Jams: “When we hosted the unofficial meet, we had about 20~25 people. The Tampa Bay Downs meetup had way more people; we even had more than 25 cosplayers! It’s always a scary feeling when you start to think that no one is going to show up. Luckily, we had a fantastic turnout! Due to Umamusume‘s rising popularity, I can’t imagine the turnout for the next one!”
Q: Are there any particular cosplayers that you’d like to shout out?
Pinky: “All of our racers! Even though it’s a silly, low-stakes race, it’s still brave to get out there in front of everyone and have your face up on a big-screen as you run on a horse racing track.”
Jams: “Like Pinky said, everyone who ran is a real one because that was NOT easy. The heat was so unbearable that I was terrified of falling or passing out! The heat in a normal Floridian summer is intense, and it’s outright brutal with cosplay on. So kudos to everyone who braved the outdoors for this!”
Q: Do you know if cosplayers show up to races before this? If so, what did the horse racing community think about it an Umamusume?
Pinky: “We attended two race days at the Tampa Bay Downs (in cosplay) before the event, and everyone was really cool about it! People kept asking why we were dressed as horses and asked to take photos.”
Jams: “We had a very positive experience when we went by ourselves in January and at the unofficial meetup on Tampa Derby Day! Once we met a woman who used to be a jockey in Japan, that was an awesome experience.”
Q: With Cygames, Inc. sponsoring races at the Breeders’ Cup and Kentucky Derby, do you think Umamusume will be a franchise that introduces new fans to anime?
Pinky: “I hope so! We got loads of questions from people who aren’t familiar with Umamusume. You can tell they weren’t anime fans, but they seemed genuinely curious, so I hope they went home and checked it out!”
Jams: “When we explained the concept to people at the track, we had a few people who told us they really want to get into Umamusume because it sounded cool! I can definitely see this being the gateway for a lot of people to get into anime.
Q: When people think of US anime mechas, it’s always New York, California, or Texas; Florida, not so much. What’s the otaku scene like there?
Pinky: “I can only speak for Central Florida, but it’s pretty good. Although the anime scene here is smaller than it would be in California or New York, we have a couple cons that are fairly large, such as Holiday Matsuri.”
Jams: “Florida is a sleeper agent in terms of otaku culture! Due to the lack of events here, when we do get one, people show up! When we had the Miku Expo and the Ado concert, it was an amazing experience. You could definitely tell that people wanted to go all in!”
Q: I saw that the Umamusume Florida group is planning “morning group fun runs.” Did the franchise inspire a health kick?
Pinky: “Possibly! A couple of cosplayers went to the gym before the race.
Jams: “A lot of our runners trained before the race, so Umamusume is inspiring people to at least try to run really fast!”
Q: Are there any other Umamusume-themed events in the works?
Pinky: “We’re hoping to host another event at the Tampa Bay Downs track in the fall when it’s not too hot. Summer in Florida does not agree with cosplay races.”
Jams: “The racing season is ending soon and won’t start back up until later November, but I’ve already been doing some planning for events! I would love to do a holiday-themed meetup in December! We’re trying to see if Tampa Bay Downs would let us do photoshoots on the track during the off-seasons. I think it would be really neat to see if we could do a day where we learn about the history of Tampa Bay Downs! It just celebrated its 100th year, so I’m sure there’s a lot to learn!”
Anime Corner, and I would like to thank Pinky (PinkhairedFox) and Jams (JamboreeCosplay) for this interview. Photos © Kyle Albers (kyle_albers)
© Cygames, Inc.
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