Whether you bet on black, red or brindle, Las Vegas is the place to meet up with Lady Luck this Fall.

The ABBI Classic Finals will kick off on Thurs. Oct. 29 with the 2009 Wild Card event. This competition will advance four bulls to meet up with the top 40 Classic qualifiers from the regular season. Those bad bulls will face off against the toughest 40 bull riders in the world (plus the leader from the tours from PBR Australia, PBR Canada, PBR Brazil and PBR Mexico) during the third round of the PBR World Finals on Sunday, Nov. 1.

Last year, D&H's Crosswired took the $250,000 prize; Ravenscroft's Black Pearl had to settle for second. Both animals were just 3-year-olds last season, making their accomplishments all that much more impressive. It also set the stage for what could be the ultimate rematch, first place in the 2009 Classic standings belonged to Crosswired until early summer when Black Pearl took over. But the slate is wiped clean in Las Vegas. The animal with the highest score after the long and short round will take the $250,000 first-place money.

That means it can literally be any animal's day. Just as Black Pearl came up through the Wild Card system to get a slot in Las Vegas in 2008, there just as easily could be a bull we've yet to see qualify entered in the Wednesday event—and then go on to make it big.

After the long go, the top scoring Classic bulls will continue on to the short round on Thurs., Nov. 5. With two televised rounds of the PBR World Finals featuring ABBI bulls, this will be great exposure for our organization and our top buckers. Exposing the breeders and bloodlines of our animals to a television audience of hundreds of thousands of fans should help to drive even more people to our exciting sport—either as partners, investors or aspiring stock contractors.

The Futurity action will take place for the first time at the PBR's FanZone at Mandalay Bay. The specially constructed Wrangler University arena will host a variety of competitions (including Mutton Bustin') and by holding the long and short Futurity rounds, a wide audience of people will be exposed to how exciting a 2-year-old with a dummy can be. The long round will be Mon., Nov. 2 followed by a short round on Wed., Nov. 4.

Last year's $100,000 champion was Lightning C Cattle Co.'s Copp Hou who had a remarkable two-round performance with a 94.75 and a 91.5. Copp Hou beat the second place bull, the great Terrell 623, by over 6 points. Odds are good the margin of victory won't be as wide this year, and with the unpredictability inherent in "teenage" bulls bucking, it'll be hard to pick out the top contenders until after the long go outside Mandalay Bay.

The Wrangler University arena will also host an exhibition by ABBI's junior members. The top two ABBI Junior Futurity bulls from each of the three events (Ardmore, Okla., Tulsa, Okla., and Sulphur Springs, Texas) are invited to come to Las Vegas, giving their junior breeder owners a great opportunity to showcase all that they have accomplished with their fantastic buckers this season. "I'm looking forward to the opportunity to be a part of the ABBI Finals," shared the big winner of the Junior Futurity system this season, Rex Samford. "It'll be neat to be able to take (my bull) Party All The Time to Las Vegas and to get to share with other people what the ABBI is all about. It'd be cool if what I do inspires other kids to get involved."

The ABBI Las Vegas experience is all about getting involved. Whether you attend because you have bulls qualified to compete in the Classic or Futurity, are going to try your chances at the Wild Card, have come to the Finals to learn from and network with other breeders, or just because know how to have a good time-try to experience as many of the great ABBI and PBR events as possible.

For those attendees looking to broaden their herd's bloodlines, the ABBI will once again hold their annual sale on November 5. There will also be educational seminars by a series of experts held on Halloween.

More details on the ABBI Sale and seminars will be available soon at www.americanbucking bull.com.