Brett Hoffman
When the 2009 Wrangler National Finals Rodeo concludes Saturday night in Las Vegas, Trevor Brazile is expected to walk away with a record-tying seventh world all-around title.
The Decatur cowboy is on the verge of tying Ty Murray of Stephenville who won No. 7 in 1998.
But it’s a good thing Brazile entered the National Finals with the all-around title all but clinched as the result of having a lucrative regular season. Throughout the first four performances of the NFR, the roping superstar had a sluggish start.
Going into Monday night’s fifth-round performance, Brazile had pocketed only two small checks — $2,764 after he and his team roping partner, Patrick Smith, finished sixth during the third round Sunday night and $4,423 after coming in fifth in tie-down roping during the same performance.
Then, it appeared he might have another bad night on Monday after he and Smith received a 10-second penalty as the result of Smith being flagged for breaking the barrier, meaning that Smith did not allow the animal to have a proper head start.
But during the tie-down roping competition less than a hour later, Brazile and Cody Ohl of Hico tied for first in the round after each cowboy turned in blistering time a 7.1 seconds. Brazile earned $15,343.
“This was, by far, the best calf I’ve drawn this week,” Brazile said. “That means a lot, you know. You’ve got 15 guys out here that didn’t get here by accident, and when you’re on the wrong end of the draw, it’s not as much fun.”
As the result of sharing the tie-down roping victory in Round 5, Brazile gained momentum.
During the sixth round on Tuesday, Brazile finished second with a 7.5 and pocketed $13,546.
That pushed Brazile’s all-around earnings to $324,664, $142,949 ahead of second ranked Clint Robinson, who had $181,915.
Brazile also was $146,311 ahead of third-ranked Josh Peek, who had earned $178,353.
Futurity update
The National Cutting Horse Association World Championship Futurity open division semifinals is scheduled for Saturday (Dec. 12) at Will Rogers Memorial Coliseum in Fort Worth.
Two horses to watch are Arc Ruby Playgunia and rider Matthew Taylor Budge and Smooth Going Cat and Matt Miller. After competing in the first two rounds, the two horses led all semifinals qualifiers with an aggregate score of 436.5.
Arc Ruby Playgunia turned in an attention grabbing first-round score of 221 and a 215.5 in the second round. Smooth Going Cat posted a 216.5 on his first run and then turned in a 222.
Three other open horses to watch are Lena Peptolena (ridden by Craig Thompson), Reys Desire (Lee Francois) and Rockin W (Tony Piggott). They each advanced to the semifinals with a 436.
A field of 72 horses have advanced to the semifinals. During the semifinals, no previous scores will count. During the final round on Sunday, the highest-scoring horse wins the title.
The Futurity open division final is the first jewel of the sport’s Triple Crown Series and winner will receive the coveted $250,000 prize.
New TV contract
The PRCA has signed a contract with In Country Television to broadcast 30 hours of coverage in 2010.
In Country, which reaches 32 million households through the DISH Network and Direct TV, will broadcast a collection of prominent PRCA shows, including the All American ProRodeo Championships in Waco and the Dodge National Circuit Finals Rodeo in Pocatello, Idaho.
In Country’s rodeo coverage will debut with the Feb. 4-21 San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo.
