TicketSmarter Morning Line – Arcadia Competition 1

By: Slade Long

The 2021 Unleash The Beast: American Roots Edition continues Saturday afternoon with the first Competition of the PBR Pendleton Whisky Invitational in Arcadia, Florida. Round 1 and Saturday’s championship round can be seen on RidePass (2 p.m. ET) and CBS Sports Network (9 p.m. ET).

Dalton Kasel on 34 Soup in a Group:

Kasel was 90.75 points on this bull in May of last year. Soup in a Group is a veteran bull most riders are familiar with. He’s not a pushover, but he’s a great bull to have, and that’s important because the luck of the draw plays a bigger role this year.

With the change in the point system this season, having a good draw in a long round carries a lot more weight than it did last year. In 2020, a two-day event win paid 80 points for the aggregate win. These events pay 80 in the aggregate each day, and the short round is a draft, so placing in the top two or three in a long round and picking at the top of the draft means a lot. In 2020 you had to be leading the event on at least two head to pick at the top of the draft.

Brennon Eldred on 520C @PBR on TikTok:

TikTok is a solid draw. He’s been ridden in more than half his outs at this level, and most often by right-handed riders. He’s given up a couple of round wins as well. He can be a little tricky, but Eldred has a chance to pick up some points here.

Kaique Pacheco on -51 Skeeter Peter:

Pacheco should have an easy time here and could get a big score. Keyshawn Whitehorse was 90 on this bull at the World Finals. Skeeter Peter has a solid buckoff record overall, but he’s 2-4 against right-handed riders. His style is a great fit for Pacheco.

Rodrigo Melgar on 51 Safety Meeting:

Melgar is a newcomer and the first Guatemalan rider to appear at a UTB-level event. He is capable of competing here, based on what he’s done at lower-level events so far, but he faces a tough opponent. Safety Meeting is hands down the bull to have in this round. He’s been ridden in six of his last seven outs, and four of those were 90-plus-point rides. The key factor here is Melgar’s lack of experience. While Safety Meeting is very rideable, he’s a high-performance model. All of the guys who have ever stayed on him are top-tier riders with loads of experience against bulls of this caliber. He has speed, and he’s not forgiving of mistakes.

Joao Ricardo Vieira on 513 Airborne:

Airborne is certainly one of the better bulls in this round, but he’s also insanely difficult to ride. He’s 15-0 in his career, and he’s never looked very rider-friendly. His style resembles the bull that broke Jess Lockwood’s jaw last week, with a very long jump out of the chute and a huge corner. He can go either way. Vieira can certainly win the round on him, but this bull is really hard to stay on.

Dener Barbosa on 77B Medicine Man:

Medicine Man is an excellent long round draw, or he would be if Barbosa were right-handed. This bull is 10-15 against righties, but he’s pretty adept at getting left-handed guys on the ground. Only two lefties have made the whistle on him.

Claudio Montanha Jr. on 428 Outlaw:

Montanha is supposed to win this matchup; Outlaw is 3-6 against right-handed riders. He has produced round-winning type scores before, but the last couple of rides on him were mid 80’s and didn’t place high in rounds. Montanha has not done well against the more difficult short-round bulls over the past year or two, and he could use the advantage of a high draft pick.

Cooper Davis on 812 Talking Smack:

Talking Smack is the most difficult bull in this round. He was last ridden in April of 2019, and he’s 48-5 in his career. There is no mystery about why he’s hard to ride – it’s easy to see. He has broken timing and he’s really strong. He yanks riders around, and pretty much none of them like him. Davis has faced him once before – at the 2019 Finals – and bucked off, but he has tamed a number of the world’s most difficult bulls in his career.

Cole Melancon on 626 Experiment:

Melancon drew well in both long rounds last week and converted both into scores. He has another good one here. Experiment doesn’t have a long history, but he should be a good fit for Melancon and could be worth 87-88 points.

J.B. Mauney on 604 Marquis Metal Works Coriolis Effect:

This bull threw Mauney off twice last year in August and September. He’s only been ridden once in eight career outs. Mauney is tough for any bull to beat, but given two practice runs at this bull, he may have it figured out.

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