Japan’s fund for retired racehorses has raised more than 1.8 million US dollars over the past 10 years, mostly thanks to fans of the mobile game Umamusume Pretty Derby. This fund, called the Nice Nature Memorial Donation, is run by the Retired Horse Association of Japan. It uses the money to pay for vet care, safe homes, and other needs so old racehorses can live well after they stop racing. The fund started small in 2017, but donations jumped more than 30 times higher after the game came out in February 2021. People gave about 35.8 million Japanese yen, or around 225,000 US dollars, in that first year alone because fans fell in love with the characters based on real horses and learned about the hard life of retired horses from the game and its TV show. Even after the real horse Nice Nature died in May 2023 at age 35, people still donate a lot to the fund named in her honor. Fans have also helped other horses by raising money to fix stables for Meisho Doto and by giving support to Haru Urara.

It is with heavy hearts that we share that Grass Wonder passed away on August 8. The legendary racehorse's legacy serves as the inspiration for the character of the same name in Umamusume: Pretty Derby. We share our condolences to all the staff involved in Grass Wonder's care.

Off Pebbles Beach in Barbados, photographer Ana Elisa Sotelo joined horse handler Glenfield Clarke on a morning swim with a racehorse named Zorah. Sotelo says she was mesmerized by the way the horse and groom seemed to “become kind of like one creature.”

Interested in business or enterprise? Meet exhibitors, build contacts and explore opportunities at The Midlands Business Network Expo. 📍 Wolverhampton Racecourse 🗓 20th June 2026 ⏰ 10 AM – 2 PM #WLVcareers# #BusinessExpo# #Networking#

A Roof for Living, a Roof for Freedom (September 8, 2026) When I was young, I was deeply influenced by my parents, who taught me the importance of wealth management for a decent life in Hong Kong. My mother always said it was essential to own at least two properties no matter where I eventually settled — one to live in, and the other to generate stable rental income. To this day, property investment remains a cornerstone of my assets. For many Asians, this mindset is almost instinctive: a roof over your head is security, but a second roof is freedom. I currently own several properties. Before I moved into my present home at Old Peak Road — the Feng Shui property that has brought me prosperity and wealth — I lived in Happy Valley, in an apartment facing the racecourse (pictures attached). That too was considered excellent Feng Shui. Today it provides me with steady monthly rental income. Over the years I have come to see property not merely as bricks and mortar, but as a form of quiet compounding that requires patience more than brilliance. The Happy Valley flat has weathered market cycles, interest-rate swings, and changing tenant preferences, yet it continues to pay its own way and then some. The current residence, chosen as much for its energy as for its location, has given me something rarer: a sense that the place itself is aligned with the life I want to live. Living well and investing well do not have to be separate projects.I still keep the rule my mother taught me: one home to live in, and at least one more that pays its way. That simple distinction has shaped every property I have bought. In Hong Kong where land is extremely scarce and ownership is bound up with the idea of a secure life, her advice has lasted longer than almost anything else I was told.