COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – The Wrangler Million Dollar Tour logos – for both Gold and Silver tier rodeos – were unveiled today by the PRCA to coincide with the season's first of 17 Tour rodeos, the Feb. 5-7 Black Hills Stock Show and Rodeo in Rapid City, S.D., and the Feb. 6-21 San Antonio (Texas) Stock Show & Rodeo.
There are eight Gold tier rodeos on the schedule, starting with San Antonio, that have a committee purse of at least $20,000 for each event. The San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo offers total prize money of $1.048 million, and it is all committee- and sponsor-generated money; the cowboys do not pay entry fees to compete at the AT&T Center.
San Antonio, the Indoor Rodeo of the Year for each of the past four years, is one of only two PRCA regular-season rodeos with prize money of more than $1 million.
Rapid City is the first of nine Silver level rodeos, those offering a committee purse of at least $10,000 per event. It will offer total prize money in excess of $200,000.
Results from all 17 rodeos count toward the Wrangler Million Dollar Tour standings, and the top 24 contestants (24 pairs in team roping) in the final standings will qualify for the first of two season-ending playoffs, Sept. 11-13 in Puyallup, Wash. Earnings in Puyallup will be added to the season totals, and the top 12 in the standings (12 teams) will qualify for the Tour Championship, Sept. 24-26 in Omaha, Neb.
Total prize money for the 17 regular-season and two playoff rodeos on the Wrangler Million Dollar Tour, presented by Justin Boots, will exceed $6.2 million.
Five perfomances from the San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo, those on Feb. 18-21, will be aired live on the Internet by ProRodeoLive.com, with Steve Kenyon handling the announcing duties.
Coverage will begin with San Antonio's two semifinal rounds (7 p.m. CT, Feb. 18-19) and carry on with the wild card round (7:30 p.m. CT, Feb. 20) and the rodeo's championship round (7:30 p.m. CT, Feb. 21). ProRodeolive.com will also produce live coverage of the second San Antonio Xtreme Bulls event, presented by B&W Trailer Hitches (1 p.m. CT, Feb. 21). ProRodeoLive.com's live broadcasts will begin 15 minutes prior to each performance in San Antonio.
For more information on these Wrangler Million Dollar Tour rodeos, go to the Web sites for San Antonio (www.sarodeo.com) and Rapid City (www.blackhillsstockshowrodeo.com).
The PRCA, headquartered in Colorado Springs, Colo., is the largest and oldest rodeo-sanctioning body in the world. The recognized leader in professional rodeo, the PRCA is committed to maintaining the highest standards.
The PRCA, a membership-based organization, sanctions more than 600 rodeos annually, which draws 24 million attendees. The PRCA showcases the world's best cowboys in premier events through the Wrangler Million Dollar Tour and its subsequent Playoffs, the Xtreme Bulls presented by B&W Trailer Hitches, the PRCA's bull riding tour; and the world-renowned Wrangler National Finals Rodeo. Action from PRCA-sanctioned rodeos and its premier events appears on Fox Sports, CBS, ESPN2, ESPN Classic and ESPN Deportes.
Each year, PRCA-sanctioned rodeos raise more than $26 million for local and national charities.
www.prorodeo.com
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