BOWIE, Texas - Coming off a great event in Sacramento, Calif., where the riders covered 46 percent of the bulls they faced, the Built Ford Tough Series now moves all the way across the country to Baltimore.
 
PBR Livestock Director Cody Lambert said this week's pen will be better than the one assembled in early January for the season-opening event in New York.
 
"I try to get better every week," he said in his weekly podcast with PBR statistician Slade Long.
 
One particular bull who has gotten better with each out is King Lopez.
 
He's been marked 45 points or better in four of his past five trips. King Lopez was raised by PBR co-founder David Fournier, and qualified for last year's Built Ford Tough Championship Round at the PBR World Finals.
 
Almost immediately upon making his BFTS debut, he was recognized for his kick, speed and whip to the outside.
 
"David's bulls, they are solid," Lambert said. "He doesn't raise a lot of bulls, but the ones he sells to K-C and these other guys, they work.

"He's a rank bull. … He's up there with those kinds of bulls - ones that are just a notch below Asteroid and Bushwacker."
 
Boyd & Floyd have typically not ventured this far to the East. However, after three events on the West Coast, they are among the contractors summoned to Baltimore.
 
Their pen is headlined by Black Pearl and Hee Bee Gee Bee.
 
Lambert and Long both mentioned that Hee Bee Gee Bee has established himself as the better of the two bulls.
 
They agreed that Black Pearl might have more impressive trips, but Hee Bee Gee Bee is more consistent. One reason for that, according to Lambert, is that Black Pearl still has a hair-trigger in the chute and comes out backwards from time to time. 

2007 World Champion Chicken on a Chain will return to the arena in Baltimore.

Toby Floyd has switched deliveries, and, according to Lambert, Black Pearl does the same thing on either side. Lambert described the short-round-caliber bull as "touchy."
 
On the other hand, he called Hee Bee Gee Bee honest.
 
"He does the same thing every time - kicks high, spins to the left, you can count on him for a good score if you can ride him, but you're not allowed to make any kind of a mistake on him, because he will buck you off. He's got enough whip and kick and enough speed to do it."
 
Long said that not only do riders want an even pen of bulls, they want an even pen of bulls like Hee Bee Gee Bee.
 
Lambert agreed, and then added, "He's predictable, and riders like that."

'He's predictable, and riders like that.'
 
Riders have also long liked Chicken on a Chain.
 
The veteran bull may not be what he once was, but he is undoubtedly the most famous bull in Baltimore.
 
The 12-year-old has had an extremely long and successful career. In fact, Long estimates only three or four other bulls have competed as long as Chicken in PBR history.
 
Lambert said that he and reigning two-time Stock Contractor of the Year Jeff Robinson will keep a close eye on the bull's performance this weekend at 1st Marnier Arena. Both have too much respect for the former World Champion Bull to allow him to overextend his legendary career.
 
"Jeff's not going to let everybody there ride him," Lambert said. "I don't think anything can take away from what he's done. He's been a World Champion, he's had so many outs, so many high scores, and I think he'll go down as one of the best."
 
Lambert compared Chicken on a Chain's longevity and dependability to that of Red Wolf, who also had an exceptionally long career.
 
Robinson will also haul Bad Blake and Back Bender to the event, along with Delco, whom he purchased last year during the World Finals. Raised in Oklahoma by Cody Hebert, Delco has been a good bull for the past couple of years, and could, perhaps, be emerging as a great bull.
 
"I think Delco's best year is ahead of him," said Lambert, who explained it's not uncommon for some bulls to fully mature at an older age than others. "I think this year, as a 5-year-old, we're going to see some really special things out of him."

WATCH THE BALTIMORE INVITATIONAL Friday on the PBR Live Event Center at 8 p.m. ET, and Saturday on CBS Sports Network at 10 p.m. ET.