PBR Takes River City by the Horns for 13th Year
By: Jordan Marie Johnson
February 03, 2016
Reese Cates won the 2015 Sacramento Invitational. Photo by Andy Watson / BullStockMedia.com.
PUEBLO, Colo. – For the 12th year in a row and 13th year overall, the PBR (Professional Bull Riders) will stop in Sacramento, California, with its elite Built Ford Tough Series (BFTS) on Feb. 5-6 at Sleep Train Arena.
This will be the last time fans can watch the fearless cowboys of the PBR doing battle with the fiercest bulls in the business at Sleep Train Arena. On Friday and Saturday, the toughest men on dirt will once again face four-legged opponents who weigh in at more than 10 times their size through two days of action-packed 8-second rides and heart-stopping wrecks.
The Sacramento Invitational begins at 8 p.m. PT, on Friday, Feb. 5, and 6:50 p.m., on Saturday, Feb. 6. Tickets start at $15 and can be purchased at the Sleep Train Arena box office, www.Ticketmaster.com, or by calling (800) 745-3000. For more information visit www.pbr.com.
New to the ticket options this year are the PBR Elite Seats. Located in an exclusive section of the arena near all of the action, the PBR Elite Seats are priced at $370 each and will give fans the VIP experience of a lifetime, including a pre-event catered reception, backstage tours featuring a PBR 101 presentation, and meet-and-greets with the PBR’s top stars. Contact the PBR Customer Service Department at 800-732-1727 for more information.
Last year, Sacramento fans watched 2008 PBR Rookie of the Year Reese Cates earn the second victory of his BFTS career and his second victory in 2015. Cates covered two of his three bulls on the weekend and pushed himself into the No. 3 spot in the PBR world standings with his win.
Riders who have been victorious over the years in River City are:
2015 Reese Cates
2014 Fabiano Vieira
2013 Guilherme Marchi
2012 Marco Eguchi
2011 Renato Nunes
2010 J.B. Mauney
2009 Zack Brown
2008 Nick Landreneau
2007 Justin McBride
2006 Mike Lee
2005 Owen Washburn
1996 K.J. Pletcher
Cates is expected to defend his title in 2016, competing alongside PBR World Champions Mike Lee (2004), Silvano Alves (2011, 2012, 2014) and J.B. Mauney (2013, 2015). Mauney is the richest athlete in Western sports history.
Other PBR stars such as rookie sensation Derek Kolbaba and fan favorites Ryan Dirteater, Shane Proctor and Robson Palermo are expected to compete.
The BFTS’ Top 35 bull riders will ride one bull each in Rounds 1 and 2 on Friday and Saturday, respectively. After Round 2 on Saturday, the riders’ individual scores will be totaled and the Top 15 will advance to the Built Ford Tough Championship Round for one more ride and a chance at the $30,000 event title.
Awaiting the Top 15 bull riders in the championship round will be the Top 15 bulls of the event, including 2015 PBR World Champion Bull Sweet Pro’s Long John (D&H Cattle Co.) and 2015 ABBI Classic Champion Sweet Pro’s Bruiser (D&H Cattle Co./Buck Cattle Co.).
CBS Sports Network will air Round 2 and the Built Ford Tough Championship Round of the Sacramento Invitational on Sunday, Feb. 7 at 4 p.m. ET.
PBR LIVE will stream the entire event in real time with Round 1 on Friday at 11 p.m. ET and Round 2 on Saturday at 9:50 p.m. ET. PBR LIVE is now available at no charge to all fans and media. Visit www.PBR.com/live to view. Fans can also watch all of the action live via the PBR LIVE app, available for download on Google Play and iTunes.
The Sacramento Invitational is the fifth stop on the 2016 BFTS schedule. The season will conclude at the PBR Built Ford Tough World Finals in Las Vegas taking place at the new Las Vegas Arena on Nov. 2-6. After five days of competition, the 2016 PBR World Champion, the bull rider who earns the most points during the 2016 season, will be crowned and receive the coveted $10,000 World Championship belt buckle and a $1 million bonus.
The BFTS is televised every week on CBS, CBS Sports Network – the home of the PBR and networks around the world. BFTS telecasts are produced for the PBR under a multi-year agreement with David Neal Productions, a Los Angeles-based production company led by 34-time Emmy® Award winner and Peabody Award winner David Neal, who serves as executive producer.
© 2016 PBR Inc. All rights reserved.