ProRodeo Sports News, June 1, 2018

R OUND THE SHORT BY THE NUMBERS The PRCA record number of tie- down roping world championships won

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in a row. The feat was accomplished by Dean Oliver (1960-64) and Roy Cooper (1980-84). Oliver won a total of eight tie-down roping world cham- pionships, a PRCA record. Cooper won six tie-down roping world titles total. The amount of prize money ($1,075,855) paid out to PRCA competitors at the four Wrangler ProRodeo Tour stops that have been completed in 2018 – the Clark County Fair & Rodeo (Logandale, Nev.), the Red Bluff (Calif.) Round-Up, Rodeo Corpus Christi (Texas) and the Clovis (Calif.) Rodeo. The next Wrangler Tour rodeo will be the Reno (Nev.) Rodeo (June 15-23). It will be livestreamed by Wrangler Network. The amount of prize money ($13,863,065) accu- mulated through May 28 at 211 PRCA rodeos in the 2018 season so far.

In the sport’s infancy, rodeos were informal events – exhibition matches of skill with nothing but pride and perhaps a few wagers at stake. That is certainly not the case anymore. The PRCA is the premier rodeo organization in the world – especially when it comes to paying contestants. The PRCA recently passed more than $1 billion in payouts since 1986. Trevor Brazile, the PRCA career earnings leader at $6,485,426, praised the PRCA for surpassing the $1 billion mark. “That’s awesome,” Brazile said. “I know the last part of that has sped up from the first part. I think we are on that trend, and I think we will see it continue in that direction. It’s just forward thinking. Rodeo’s going to improve in leaps and bounds even from that.” PRCA CEO George Taylor wants to continue to build upon the billion-dollar mark, and with the inclusion of The American, a $2.3 million rodeo, the PRCA is poised to do just that. “We couldn’t do this without the unwavering support of our great sponsors and rodeo committees,” Taylor said. “Our goal is to escalate the sport of rodeo to heights it’s never seen before, and we want the next billion dollars to be paid out much more quickly than the last billion. We’re taking steps to ensure that happens; the PRCA strives to put more money into the pockets of its competitors.” Since 2015, the committee purse at the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo has been $10 million. In the last three years, each of the 120 qualifiers for the NFR has received a check for $10,000 from the total purse of $10 million. That $10,000 counts toward their NFR and world championship earnings totals, and they compete for $8.8 million over the next 10 nights. Brazile acknowledged the sharp increase in PRCA payouts in recent years. “That’s obviously something special, and it’s easier to win the dollars today than it was before and hopefully the trend continues for the guys that come after me,” Brazile said. “With the rodeos that have improved, it’s awesome because you can see the potential with the way they run their rodeos. My hat’s off to the rodeos that have improved that much over time because it shows the potential out there for other committees.” PRCA passes more than $1 billion in payouts since 1986

ProRodeo Sports News 6/1/2018

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