PUEBLO, Colo. (October 1, 2010) - The Professional Bull Riders announced today that on Friday, October 15 at 1:00 p.m. ET the top 10 bull riders in the world and fiercest bucking bulls will compete in the “Built Ford Tough Road to Las Vegas brought to you by Cooper Tires,” a special prelude event to the 2010 PBR World Finals in the heart of New York City’s Times Square. The Times Square event will be broadcast nationally following the NFL on CBS on Sunday, October 17 at 3-4 p.m. ET or 5-6 p.m. ET (Please check local listings for times). The 2010 PBR Built Ford Tough World Finals will take place October 20-24 in Las Vegas, where the coveted PBR Championship Buckle and a $1 million bonus are up for grabs at the single richest bull riding event in the world.
The PBR also announced that they will return to New York’s Madison Square Garden for the fifth consecutive year, to kick off the 2011 Built Ford Tough Series season January 7-9, 2011. Tickets for the MSG event go on-sale Friday, October 15 by telephone at (800) 745-3000, online at www.ticketmaster.com or at the Madison Square Garden box office.
The 2010 PBR season has been the sport’s most competitive ever with the first 28 events producing 20 different winners. Top-ranked Austin Meier of Kinta, Okla. has the most wins with five and third-ranked Renato Nunes of Buritama, Brazil is second with three. Second-ranked J.B. Mauney of Mooresville, N.C., fourth-ranked Valdiron de Oliveira of Aparecida de Goiania, Brazil and leading rookie of the year candidate Silvano Alves of Pilar, Brazil each have two wins. Seven of the Top 10 riders have an event win and 13 of the Top 20 have a victory.
The 2010 standings lead have changed 11 times and there have been six different riders ranked first. Meier and Mauney have each been ranked first three different times while Nunes has been on top twice. Any of the currently ranked top five riders could win the world title based on the potential points available through the Final Five Showdowns and remaining events.
Current 2010 Built Ford Tough Series Standings
Points
Points Back
Earnings
1. Austin Meier
10,090.25
---
$252,369
2. J.B. Mauney
10,026.25
64
$279,681
3. Renato Nunes
9,391
698.5
$273,952
4. Valdiron de Oliveira
8,004.5
2,085.75
$379,842
5. Mike Lee
7,544.75
2,545.5
$143,890
6. Ryan McConnel
7,085.5
3,004.75
$119,981
7. Robson Palermo
6,952.75
3,137.5
$118,441
8. Guilherme Marchi
6,575
3,515.25
$342,729
9. Travis Briscoe
6,571.75
3,518.5
$167,145
10. McKennon Wimberly
6,486.25
3,604
$116,283
About the Professional Bull Riders, Inc. (PBR)
The PBR is the world’s premier bull riding organization. More than 100 million viewers annually watch over 400 hours of primetime PBR programming on VERSUS, NBC, CBS and networks around the world. The PBR has awarded over $100 million in prize money and 20 riders have earned over $1 million, including Justin McBride with $5.5 million -- the most of any western-sports athlete in history. The PBR was nominated as 2010 Sports League of the Year at the Sports Business Journal Sports Business Awards, alongside the National Football League, National Basketball Association and Major League Baseball. Nearly two million fans attend Built Ford Tough Series and Touring Pro Division events each year. For more information on the PBR, go to www.pbr.com, or follow on Facebook at www.facebook.com/TeamPBR and http://twitter.com/TEAMPBR.
