For the first time in their 18-year history, Professional Bull Riders, Inc. (PBR) will host an event in the heart of New York City’s Times Square in an overture to the crowning of their 17th World Champion in Las Vegas later this month.
The special prelude event, dubbed the “Built Ford Tough Road to Vegas presented by Cooper Tires”, is slated to take place on Friday, October 15, live in Times Squares, at 1PM and will feature the world’s top ten bull riders locking horns with the fiercest bucking bulls in PBR. In addition, this historic event will be broadcast nationally following the NFL on CBS on Sunday, October 17 at 3PM ET or 5PM ET (Check local listings for times).
The 2010 PBR Built Ford Tough World Finals will take place from October 20-24 in Las Vegas, Nevada, where the coveted PBR Championship Buckle and a $1 million bonus are on the line in the single richest riding event in the world.
The 2010 PBR season has been the most competitive in the sport’s history with the first 28 events producing 20 different winners.
Top-ranked Austin Meier (Kinta, OK) and third-ranked Renato Nunes (Buritama, BZ) have the most victories on this year’s tour with five and three respectively. Meanwhile, second-ranked J.B. Mauney (Mooresville, NC), fourth-ranked Valdiron de Oliveira (Aparecida de Goiania, GO) and the leading candidate for Rookie of the Year, Silvano Alves (Pilar, BZ), have two wins apiece. Seven of the top ten riders and thirteen of the top twenty have an event win this year.
The lead in the 2010 Built Ford Tough Series standings has changed hands eleven times with six different riders ranking first. Austin Meier and J.B. Mauney have held the top spot at three different points this season while Renato Nunes has been ranked #1 twice.
2010 Built Ford Tough Series Standings
1. Austin Meier – 10,891.75
2. J.B. Mauney – 10,385.00
3. Renato Nunes – 9,591.00
4. Valdiron de Oliveira – 9,157.25
5. Ryan McConnel (Colgate, OK) – 8,216.75
6. Mike Lee (Decatur, TX) – 7,913.00
7. Robson Palmero (Rio Branco, BZ) – 7,544.00
8. McKennon Wimberly (Cool, TX) – 6,756.25
9. Guilherme Marchi (Leme, SP, BZ) – 6,575.00
10. Travis Briscoe (Edgewood, NM) – 6,571.75
In related news, PBR will be returning to the ‘World’s Most Famous Arena’ for the fifth consecutive year to kick off the 2011 Built Ford Tough Series season from January 7-9, 2011. Tickets for the Madison Square Garden event go on sale Friday, October 15 via telephone at (800) 745-3000, online at www.ticketmaster.com or at the Madison Square Garden box office.
About the Professional Bull Riders, Inc. (PBR)
PBR is the world’s premier bull riding organization. More than 100 million viewers annually watch over 400 hours of primetime PBR programming on CBS, NBC, VERSUS and various networks around the world.
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.
PBR was nominated as the 2010 Sports League of the Year at the Sports BusinessJournal Sports Business Awards alongside Major League Baseball, the National Basketball Association and the National Football League.
Nearly two million fans attend elite Built Ford Tough Series and Touring Pro Division events each year.
For more information on PBR, go to www.pbr.com, or follow them on Facebook at www.facebook.com/TeamPBR and on Twitter at http://twitter.com/TEAMPBR.
Click on the following links for Examiner.com's coverage of PBR's highly successful invasion of New York City in 2009:
Professional Bull Riding comes to Madison Square Garden for the 4th consecutive year
PBR crowns 2009 World Champion, Madison Square Garden Invitational on horizon
PBR Bull Bucking Hero schmorgesborg, Mechanical Bull Media Showdown to precede MSG Invitational
Professional Bull Riders close trading on the NASDAQ; Garth Brooks and PBR to join forces
Professional Bull Riders and Garth Brooks partner to raise $1 million in 2010
Professional Bull Riders New York City Invitational: Results, interviews, pictures, slideshow
New York City Invitational: Exclusive interview with PBR icon Ty Murray; PBR 101 (Video)
PBR New York City Invitational: Top 10 observations
Click here to read the original article on Examiner.com, which includes relevant links and a special video presentation on the 'Toughest Sport in the World'.
Professional Bull Riders Invade the Heart of NYC's Times Square
