World’s Top 40 Bull Riders Return to Louisville for 4th Time in History
WHAT: For the fourth time in history, and first since 2021, PBR’s (Professional Bull Riders) elite Unleash The Beast, featuring the Top 40 bull riders in the world and rankest bovine athletes on the planet, will buck into Louisville, Kentucky, holding the PBR Cooper Tires Invitational, presented by Kubota, April 29-30 at the KFC Yum! Center.
Bringing the edge-of-the-seat action one can only experience at a PBR event, the event will feature 40 of the world’s best bull riders squaring off in epic 8-second confrontations all night long against some of the rankest bulls on the planet, often 10-times their size. For more on the event, click here.
The event will be one of the most crucial in the 2023 season. Not only will the tour stop in the Bluegrass State be part of the PBR’s 30th anniversary celebration, but it will also mark the final regular-season event in the fierce race to be crowned the 2023 PBR World Champion and earn the accompanying $1 million bonus. In one of the tightest title races in PBR history, the Top 5 are separated by 375 points, within No. 1 Kaique Pacheco a mere 182 points ahead of No. 2 Jose Vitor Leme.
The upcoming event in Louisville is anticipated to be headlined by four PBR World Champions, all looking to make further history. The field includes three-time title holder Silvano Alves, currently No. 17 in the standings as he chases his unprecedented fourth gold buckle, two-time winner Leme, who is ranked No. 2 and seeking his record-tying third world title, and 2018 Champion Pacheco, who leads the race, and 2016 gold buckle winner Cooper Davis, currently No. 4 in the race, both attempting to become the eighth multi-time PBR World Champion in history.
When the PBR Unleash The Beast was last in Louisville in March 2021, Pacheco rode red-hot, delivering a 2-for-3 effort to win the event. The victory was one of five for Pacheco en route to finishing second in the world, a position he replicated in 2022.
However, the four PBR World Champions, will be joined by a slew of other riders looking to capture their first PBR World Championship this season, including 2021 PBR Rookie of the Year Eli Vastbinder.
While the now 32-year-old Vastbinder made his PBR debut in 2009, it took more than a decade for him to breakthrough to the sport’s top tour in 2021 when he reached his career-first PBR World Finals. Once in Las Vegas, Vastbinder delivered a World Finals performance that won’t soon be forgotten. Vastbinder began the year-end event with a bang by winning Round 1. Following a buckoff in Round 2, Vastbinder then separated his right shoulder and broke his ribs attempting to ride Whiskey Bent in Round 3. Vastbinder was awarded a re-ride, and he somehow went on to ride Hell on the Red for 90 points before needing to be assisted off the dirt. Vastbinder’s memorable Finals then began to really take shape. He came back in Round 4 and battled through his broken ribs to post another 90-point ride, this time aboard 2021 ABBI Classic Champion Juju. He capped his World Finals by riding Medicine Man for 92.25 points to win Round 5 on Championship Sunday and clinch the Rookie of the Year title. Vastbinder is the only non-World Champion to produce four 90-point rides during one World Finals and is the only rookie to do so. After a career of more than a decade, Vastbinder finished the 2021 season a career-best No. 9 in the world. A family man at his core, just days prior to his PBR World Finals debut, Vastbinder and wife Paige welcomed their twin daughters, Blake and Blair, seven weeks earlier than expected.
In 2022, Vastbinder proved his 2021 campaign was no fluke, contending for his first gold buckle. Logging six Top 10 finishes during the regular-season, Vastbinder also won his career-first 15/15 Bucking Battle when he topped the field in Nampa, Idaho, courtesy of a 90.5-point ride atop Taking Chances. Qualifying for his second consecutive PBR World Finals, Vastbinder went 4-for-8 to finish seventh. He again concluded the year No. 9 in the world standings. Compliments of his stellar season, Vastbinder was draft in the first-round of the inaugural PBR Team Series Draft by the Oklahoma Freedom. Vastbinder quickly established himself as the Team’s captain, helping to lead them to back-to-back event wins in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, and Oklahoma City, and propelling them to No. 1 in the standings The team was also the first to win their homestand. During the inaugural PBR Team Series Championship, Vastbinder and the Freedom rebounded from a Round 1 loss and fought through the first Last Chance game to remain in the title hunt. After knocking out the Carolina Cowboys to reach the Semifinals, Oklahoma fell to the Arizona Ridge Riders, and ultimately finished fourth after losing to the Texas Rattlers in the third-place game. After a slow start to the 2023 season, nearly cut from the elite Unleash The Beast, Vastbinder regained his championship-contending form in mid-February winning his career-first elite tour event in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Courtesy of the win and four additional Top 15 efforts on the premier series, Vastbinder will travel to Louisville ranked No. 24 in the gold buckle race.
PBR athletes, including title contender Vastbinder, stock contractors and operational staff are available for interviews, either by phone or video conference, as soon today, or in the greater Louisville area starting Friday, April 28.
Apply for credentials via the online link here.
WHEN: Saturday, April 29, 2023 – 6:45 p.m. EDT (Round 1)
Sunday, April 30, 2023 – 1:45 p.m. EDT (Round 2 & Championship Round)
WHERE: KFC Yum! Center, 1 Arena Plaza, Louisville, KY 40202
CONTACT: Kacie Albert
Kacie.Albert@img.com
(908) 343-3348
ADDITIONAL PHOTO OP: Media are also invited to the KFC Yum! Center at 3 pm on Friday, April 28 for photographs and interviews while the dirt is being poured in the arena. Additional in-studio or onsite interviews for Friday, April 28th can be arranged in advance with 2021 PBR Rookie of the Year Eli Vastbinder. Vastbinder joins several other riders competing in Louisville who are looking to capture their first PBR World Championship this season. Zoom or phone interviews can be scheduled in advance of Friday. Please contact Sandra Moran with the KFC Yum! Center and Kacie Albert with PBR to schedule an interview or RSVP for the dirt conversion.