KUALA LUMPUR, Aug. 23 -- A video game about horse girls - girls with horse ears and tail to be exact - has become one of this year's unexpected global hits.

Following a worldwide English-language edition launch on both mobile and PC in June, Umamusume: Pretty Derby has since garnered overwhelming responses from players alike, especially those outside of Japan.

So much so that player fanbase enthusiasm for the game has extended into interest for actual horse racing and race horses of which most of the in-game horse girl characters are actually based on.

The premise of the game is simple: Players compete in races inspired by real-life race tracks managed by the Japan Racing Association (JRA) using characters named after and modeled on ac...