PBR to Open 2019 Season at Madison Square Garden January 4, 5, 6, 2019

Grab your friends and family, it’s that time of year in NYC! I don’t know about you but our family’s favorite way to start of the new year is to join our friends and kick up our boots at PBR in NYC! It’s the one time a year we can go total country right here  in the heart of New York. Of course we are not the only ones, there are plenty of people who join the fun. You might be a super fan of  bull riding, or maybe it’s a first for you, both seem to enjoy the event just the same. As for our family, we have been going for years and are totally hooked on the sport. This year for the 13^th consecutive year, PBR (Professional Bull Riders) will buck into “The World’s Most Famous Arena,” as the toughest sport on dirt launches the 2019 season for the elite PBR Unleash The Beast. The PBR’s brand of thrilling, high-flying rides and jaw-dropping wrecks will buck into the Big Apple on Jan. 4-6 for the Monster Energy Buck Off at the Garden, presented by Ariat, when the Top 35 riders in the world will square off against the rankest bucking bulls in the nation, the ultimate showdown of man vs. beast, in an effort to be crowned the event champion and earn crucial points towards the world standings.

The New York City event will also be one of four Majors, where riders will have the chance to earn increased world points (1,125), and their share of the augmented event purse, with the event winner poised to collect a $100,000 check. Last season, Gage Gay won the Garden event as one of only two riders to go a perfect 4-for-4. In the biggest payday of his PBR career, Gay earned $109,025.50 and 700 PBR world points catapulting the North Carolina cowboy to the No. 1 spot in the world standings for the first time in his career. While Gay will be unable to defend his title, sidelined by a knee injury, five past winners, including 2017 World Champion Jess Lockwood (2017), two-time World Champion J.B. Mauney (2014, 2009 and 2007), Fabiano Vieira (2014), Cody Nance (2012) and Valdiron de Oliveira (2011 and 2008), are all anticipated to return to Madison Square Garden in search of claiming yet another win in New York City.

The event comes on the heels of yet another electric race for the PBR World Championship. While Kaique Pacheco fought through a torn PCL and MCL to retain his lead atop the standings and claim the 2018 PBR World title, No. 2 Jose Vitor Leme, No. 3 Cody Teel, No. 4 Claudio Montanha Jr. and No. 5 Marco Eguchi, winner of the World Finals event, kept the pressure on, leading the title to be decided by the final outs.

For three nights, the Top 35 bull riders in the world will take on their 1,800-pound bovine opponents atop 750 tons of dirt spread 8 inches deep across the home of the New York Rangers and New York Knicks, striving to win their share of the $140,000 event purse. The PBR has awarded more than $1.2 million in New York City in the last decade, as well as valuable world standings points that count toward the season’s overall $1 million PBR World Championship title decided each November in Las Vegas. Fans can witness America’s Original Extreme Sport beginning on Friday, January 4 at 7:45 p.m. ET, Saturday, January 5 and 6:45 p.m. ET, and on Sunday, January 6 at 1:45 p.m. ET. Tickets start at $15 and can be purchased at all Ticketmaster outlets, online at www.ticketmaster.com or via phone at 800-745-3000. Tickets are also available at the MSG Box Office or via phone at 866-858-0088.

PBR Elite Seats will be available for those wanting a true VIP experience. Located in an exclusive section of the arena immediately next to the chutes and all the action, the PBR Elite Seats are priced at $545 each and will give fans the VIP experience of a lifetime; a pre-event reception with refreshments, backstage tours featuring a PBR 101 presentation, and meet-and-greet with top PBR stars. These seats are also available now. As the first stop of the 2019 PBR Unleash The Beast season, New York City will host the beginning of a fierce 26-stop tour that includes stops in Chicago, Anaheim, Kansas City, St. Louis, and Sacramento. The season will culminate with the PBR World Finals in Las Vegas where the 2019 PBR World Champion, the bull rider who earns the most PBR world points during the season, will receive the coveted World Championship belt buckle and $1 million bonus.

About the PBR (Professional Bull Riders):

The world’s premier bull riding organization began as a dream of 20 bull riders 26 years ago and now operates in five countries. On its elite tour, the organization features the Top 35 bull riders in the world and the top bulls in the business. The televised PBR Unleash The Beast, along with the PBR Velocity Tour (VT), the PBR Touring Pro Division (TPD) and the PBR’s international circuits in Australia, Brazil, Canada and Mexico have paid nearly $184 million in earnings to its athletes. Thirty-six bull riders have earned more than $1 million, including two-time PBR World Champion J.B. Mauney who is the top-earning athlete in Western sports history with more than $7.3 million in career earnings. PBR is part of the Endeavor (formerly WME | IMG) network. For more information on the PBR, go to PBR.com, or follow on Facebook at Facebook.com/PBR, Instagram at Instagram.com/PBR, and YouTube at YouTube.com/PBR.