Cygames Breeders’ Cup Sprint Returns as Cygames and Breeders’ Cup Renew Partnership

Cygames, Inc. has renewed its partnership with the Breeders’ Cup for the third consecutive year. Under the agreement, the weekend’s sprint race will be named the Cygames Breeders’ Cup Sprint.

The Grade 1 race will take place on Saturday, October 31, at Keeneland Race Course in Lexington, Kentucky, as part of the 43rd Breeders’ Cup World Championships. It offers a $2 million purse and is open to Thoroughbreds aged three and older. The race is run over six furlongs (1,200 meters) on dirt.

The Breeders’ Cup announced that Cygames will have an “expanded on-site presence,” including photos and graphics of Japanese horses. Likewise, a life-sized statue of Forever Young will be displayed at the Keeneland Race Course. Cygames’ logo will be displayed on the starting gate and saddle towels of competing horses.

Heather Higgins, the Breeders’ Cup Senior Vice President of Corporate Partnership, said

“We are very pleased to continue our partnership with Cygames and build upon a relationship that connects two organizations with increasingly global audiences. Japan has become an important part of the Breeders’ Cup story, and Cygames has been a tremendous partner in helping us celebrate that connection in creative and engaging ways. We look forward to bringing their expanded activation to fans at Keeneland this fall.”

The 2026 Breeders’ Cup World Championships include 13 other Grade 1 races, in addition to the Cygames Breeders’ Cup Sprint. Several Umamusume: Pretty Derby characters have placed or won in Breeders’ Cup races.

• Loves Only You — 1^st place at the 2021 Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf, the first Japanese horse to win a Breeders’ Cup Race
• Marche Lorraine — 2^nd place at the 2021 Longines Breeders’ Cup Distaff
• Forever Young — 1^st place at the 2025 Longines Breeders’ Cup

Susumu Fujita, the chairman and founder of CyberAgent (Cygames’ parent company), owns Forever Young. While Forever Young will return to defend his title, no Umamusume: Pretty Derby horse will compete in the Cygames Breeders’ Cup Sprint. General admission tickets start at $85.

Cygames owns and created Umamusume: Pretty Derby. The multimedia franchise features anthropomorphic versions of real-world racehorses.

Source: Breeders’ Cup Official Website
© Breeders’ Cup
© Cygames, Inc.