The 2008 ABBI Wild Card, a contest that will qualify five bulls to buck at the World Bucking Bull Classic Finals with the top 45 bulls from the regular season for a chance at the ABBI World Champion Classic title and $250,000, will now be a series of four events.

“We're excited about changing the Wild Card competition to four events,” said ABBI President Russ Gant. “This will make it bigger and better and give more people the opportunity to participate.”

The Wild Card, originally scheduled as a single event held in Las Vegas prior to the Finals, is changing to encompass four regional events by popular demand.  The Wild Card gives 3 and 4-year-old Classic bulls who haven't qualified for the ABBI Finals an opportunity to earn one of the coveted spots. Each event will pay a prize purse through third place and the Wild Card bull with the highest overall score in Las Vegas will earn an additional $50,000.

The Oklahoma Breakdown PBR Bull Bash Enterprise Rent-A-Car Tour in Freedom (Okla.), the Mesquite PBR Discovery Tour in Mesquite (Texas), the Guilherme Marchi Invitational PBR Enterprise Rent-A-Car Tour Presented by Jeffrey Scott Fine Magnetics in Pomona (Calif.) and the Conyers Copenhagen Bull Riding Challenger Tour in Conyers (Ga.) are the PBR events that will play host to the Wild Card.  With bucking bull breeders and stock contractors spread out across America, this change will provide qualifying events that are closer for the majority of the breeders, saving them fuel and time.

“We originally thought that moving it to Las Vegas would be the best thing for the ABBI,” explained  Gant, “but that was before the downturn in the economy and the drastic rise in fuel prices. The ABBI Board is sensitive to the travel needs of our members and realized that Las Vegas was a long distance for most of them to travel with an unproven bull.”

The first event will be Aug. 29 in Freedom, followed by Mesquite Sept. 5-6. The action then moves to the West Coast on Sept. 25, and the East Coast for Sept. 26-27.

The World Bucking Bull Classic Finals will start on Nov. 4 during the day at the Thomas & Mack Arena in Las Vegas in conjunction with the PBR World Finals. The top 25 qualifying Classic bulls will be matched up against the top 45 bull riders in the world on Nov. 6 during the PBR performance.

To enter any of the qualifying events and for more information on the Wild Card and the World Bucking Bull Classic Finals, visit the ABBI Website: americanbuckingbull.com

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