FORT WORTH, Texas — The saying “better late than never” hasn’t always portrayed the most positive of sentiment, suggesting a goal has been accomplished but not necessarily putting a star next to the checked box or completing said task in a timely manner.

Yet, for 18 of the 23 riders who climbed into Cowtown Coliseum Thursday night for the second and final evening of Ride For Redemption competition, the statement couldn’t have offered more upside at the end of the night, as they found themselves on the outside looking in as the 25-man roster was finalized for the third postseason showcase. 

With Daniel Keeping, Claudio Montanha Jr., Felipe Furlan, Yan Victor Cunha and Elizmar Jeremias claiming the final five spots to compete inside AT&T Stadium during this weekend’s approaching 2025 PBR World Finals: Unleash The Beast – Championship, it became quite clear who the “contenders” and “pretenders” were this time around. 

And while Jeremias ended up winning the second stage of season-culminating action, it’s his young son who continues to fuel his rookie campaign. 

“He’s my biggest inspiration and motivation,” he shared via the translation help of Bruno Zecchin.

“When I wake up every day and see his smile, it gives me everything I need to keep going to give him a better and comfortable life. I am his No. 1 fan and I’m going to work hard so that he sees me the same way.”

Quite the humble approach for the one and only man who remains a threat to No. 15 Hudson Bolton in this year’s 2025 PBR Rookie of the Year race. 

RELATED: Elizmar Jeremias, Yan Victor Cunha, Felipe Furlan, Claudio Montanha Jr. and Daniel Keeping earn final five berths to the PBR World Finals: Unleash The Beast – Championship on May 17-18 at AT&T Stadium

After trailing fellow first-year Anderson de Oliveira for a majority of the season, locked into the No. 2 spot amongst rookie talents, he suddenly found himself rocking the No. 3 rank soon after Bolton returned to the pack after missing some time due to injury.

But with the 39-year-old in Oliveira dealing with a knee injury of his own while riding zero bulls throughout his week in the Fort Worth Stockyards, which included an 0-for-2 run Thursday night, Jeremias is back in the No. 2 spot since the elder statesman was eliminated from Championship segment contention. 

“Being rookie of the year is the consequence of hard work. If I ride my bulls, that is what will pay off, Jeremias offered postgame in the locker room.

“I don’t think about it (the race). I just think about I need to ride my bulls jump for jump, bull by bull and if I’m able to accomplish this, I know all of the prizes that come with it.”

With 756 UTB points available to any one rider come this weekend’s Championship finale and Jeremias remaining just 148 UTB points behind 19-year-old Bolton in the rookie race turned sprint, Jeremias has every chance in the world to claim the coveted honors.

And an associated bonus check, of course, which would go a long way in making sure his son and family will enjoy the future he wants for them.

Despite admitting to feeling better about his opening matchup dancing with Snuggles, it was his Round 2 conversion aboard Regulator which earned him both an 89.5-point score (now his fourth-highest mark of his career) and one of the final five invites to AT&T Stadium. 

Which was an encouraging exclamation mark for the Brazilian after going just 1-for-4 during last week’s Eliminations opener. 

Mixing in some cardio and weight-lifting to stay loose, he doubled down on crediting tape time for his success one week later. 

“I watched a lot of videos on my bulls. I was more confident on the first bull than the second, but I wasn’t able to ride my first bull. The best thing for me is to watch videos – Watching videos of my bulls and watching videos of myself. It gets my hopes up, it gets me more focused on my bull. I exercised a lot as well,” Jeremias shared of his research tendencies.

“I took all of the pressure off myself once I walked into the arena and when I got back to the chutes after the first. Now I have another bull, another shot, my last shot. I’ll do whatever it takes to ride this bull. To my friends around me, I told them ‘This is our last shot – we have to get it.’”

With four final rounds now representing his actual renewed final shot of the Unleash The Beast season, he’s got less than 48 hours to start looking into his Round 1 opponent of Alakazoo, which will serve as a bit of a revenge rematch effort after the animal athlete got the W last month in Tacoma, Washington.  

While the best bull riders on the planet are set to endure a one-day pause as the circuit transitions everything over to Jerry World, fans can tune into Fox Nation Friday night to witness the second-ever Kid Rock’s Rock’s Rock N Rodeo presented by $VET beginning at 7 p.m. CT. 

Set to overtake AT&T Stadium May 17-18, fans can catch all four rounds of Championship action via the PBR App, RidePass and PBR’s social media channels, as well as The Cowboy Channel. 

Photo courtesy of Bull Stock Media