Not many young people know that horse racing games dominated in the 90s. Yes, back then, there weren’t any popular FPS or open-world games; it was all about training a horse and racing it against other incredibly frustrating NPCs, which seemed to have a secret boost button at the final stretch.
This is the golden era of gaming. Back then, games were simple and built around one thing only: entertainment! And boy, they were fun.
So, the next logical question is “Why did horse racing games never become mainstream if they were that fun to play?” Well, this genre faced a couple of problems.
First of all, it was really hard to create a realistic horse racing game back then. Horse racing mechanics and appearance are still a challenge for game developers even in 2026. Also, they were fun, but repetitive. The gameplay quickly becomes boring, and after a couple of races, you feel like you’re doing the same thing over and over again.
But nowadays, we have new technologies and new gaming genres, and it is the perfect time for a modern horse racing video game revival. Some companies already tried this and got quite a big success, so let’s talk about it.
Older Games Already Proved the Sport Has Real Gameplay
The most important thing is that a horse-racing revival wouldn’t need to solve whether racing can actually work as a game. Many games already proved that the horse racing concept as a game works really well.
Tecmo’s Gallop Racer series made players think about a horse’s preferred running style, stamina, positioning, and breeding. And we had plenty of other games from Winning Post to G1 Jockey, all with different concepts, and all of them quite popular among gamers.
So, the concept works. Game developing companies will have only one job, and that’s to bring these games to the 21st century using Unreal Engine 5, new gaming technologies, and possibly borrowing some of the mechanics from Red Dead Redemption 2 when it comes to horse movement.
Basically, horse racing games deserve a remaster rather than a complete rebuild. The system and gameplay were good, but we need to update it a bit, possibly make it more mainstream, include popular racing events like the Kentucky Derby or the Breeders’ Cup, and maybe even include betting.
Why not, right? There are millions of people placing a bet on the Breeders’ Cup at TwinSpires every year, so they’ll definitely love this new feature.
Rival Stars Shows That People Still Want to Racehorses
The clearest modern evidence comes from Rival Stars Horse Racing.
PikPok’s Desktop Edition mixes racing with breeding, stable development, multiplayer competition, and more relaxed equestrian activities. The horses use motion-captured animation, and breeding produces different coat patterns and genetic combinations rather than merely changing a number beside “Speed.”
The game’s Steam reviews remain strongly positive years after its 2020 PC release.
PikPok has also taken the franchise into virtual reality. Rival Stars Horse Racing: VR Edition, released in April 2025, lets players physically hold virtual reins, race other riders, breed horses, and interact with them around the stable. PikPok describes Rival Stars as the world’s most downloaded horse-racing and equestrian mobile game franchise.
Winning Post Proves the Deep Simulation Can Survive Too
At the opposite end of the spectrum sits Winning Post 10 2026.
Koei Tecmo’s long-running Japanese series treats horse racing as a multi-generational ownership and breeding simulation. Players build bloodlines, develop horses over entire careers, and interact with a historical racing world rather than merely entering isolated contests.
The latest version launched in March 2026.
There is only one rather significant issue for international players.
It officially supports Japanese. Not English. In 2026, that’s crazy.
One of the deepest horse-racing simulations available therefore exists behind a language barrier for much of the potential global audience.
Starters Orders Show How Much Racing Can Fit Into One Game
Then there is Starters Orders, which demonstrates just how ridiculously deep the sport becomes once a developer stops worrying about frightening casual players.
The current series allows you to own, train, breed, and racehorses; operate a stud farm; manage huge historical pedigrees; enter major international races; and deal with handicapping, stewards, photo finishes, and dynamic racing careers stretching across generations. Starters Orders Touch brought much of that simulation to mobile and desktop platforms from 2024 onward.
Its own documentation openly describes the game as a hardcore simulation aimed at racing enthusiasts.
Umamusume Proved Racing History Can Become Mainstream Entertainment
And then something very strange happened.
Umamusume: Pretty Derby went global.
Cygames transformed famous Japanese racehorses into anime characters, gave them individual stories based partly on real racing history, and built a training game around guiding them through their careers.
Explaining it still sounds like someone lost a bet during a development meeting.
Yet it works.
The English-language version launched globally in June 2025. By 2026, it had more than 42,000 English-language Steam reviews, around 93 percent of them positive, and had won Best Mobile Game at The Game Awards 2025.
So, all things point to the revival of horse racing games being a home run. The sport has grown and has more fans, big events are getting more attention, there is a good base from past games, the system works, and all the developers need to do is bring them to the 21st century.
Let’s hope that they start reviving this category as soon as possible because we need some multi-million-dollar horse racing game.
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