A night after a new track record was set at the Cowboys Rangeland Derby, two more riders eclipsed it Saturday.
Racing in front of a capacity crowd on a hot summer night in Calgary, Chanse Vigen set a new course record with a run of 1:10.57.
Vigen's run, from barrel number two in the ninth heat of the night, actually broke the record set a few minutes earlier by four-time Rangeland Derby champion Kurt Bensmiller, whose time of 1:10.66 broke the course record set by Jamie Laboucane Friday night.
Laboucane broke the existing course record, which was held by Vigen.
Kris Molle was third.
After two days, Vigen has vaulted to the top of the leaderboard by a slender margin of 67 one-hundredths of a second of Bensmiller.
Rae Croteau Jr. is third, followed by Kris Molle and Layne MacGillivray.
The top three after Saturday, July 15, advance to the championship final heat. The winner of that heat wins the Cowboys Rangeland Derby championship.
100TH BIRTHDAY
Sunday's run is a historic one: it's the 100th anniversary of the first Stampede Rodeo, back in 1923.
That one was won by the Mosquito Creek Ranch outfit, driven primarily by Bill Summers.
According to rodeo commentator Billy Melville, the chuck wagon racers were also the source of the first Stampede pancake breakfasts, when they rode to Stephen Avenue and cooked up a bunch and served them to anyone who was hungry.
