News

October 11, 2005
MICHAELS-BEERBAUM, PESSOA, SKELTON FAVORITES TO WIN LVWI GRAND PRIX, OCT. 15
Las Vegas Hilton SuperBook® First To Set Odds,Accept Wagers On An International Show Jumping Event

LAS VEGAS, October 11, 2005…Germany’s Meredith Michaels Beerbaum at 2-1, Brazil’s Rodrigo Pessoa at 3-1 and Great Britain’s Nick Skelton at 4-1 are the odds on favorites to win the $750,000 Grand Prix show jumping event this weekend (Oct. 14-15) in the inaugural $1 million Las Vegas World Invitational at the Thomas & Mack Center.

Wagers for the LVWI Grand Prix on Saturday, Oct. 15 are currently being accepted at the Las Vegas Hilton SuperBook®, which set the first odds for an international show jumping event. The Las Vegas Hilton is an LVWI sponsor and the host hotel for the event.

U.S. born Michaels-Beerbaum (Encino, CA) is Germany’s top rider. She won the World Cup championship in April at Thomas & Mack and was the International Equestrian Federation’s (FEI) 2004 rider of the year. Pessoa, a Belgian-based Brazilian from Brussels, is currently the FEI’s number one ranked rider. Skelton, from Rowington, England, is a five-time Olympian, a six-time World Champion medallist and a 10-time European champion.

Twenty-five of the world’s top riders will compete in four events during two days including the $100,000 Let It Ride, a speed event that features one round, plus a jump-off against the clock; the $50,000 Knockout, where riders will race against each other on identical courses; the$100,000 Ride And Drive, a unique event where riders first complete a jumping course on a horse, then finish an obstacle course in a car, and the $750,000 Grand Prix.

The current Las Vegas Hilton SuperBook® odds for the rider field includes: Michael Whitaker, Great Britain, and Marcus Ehning, Germany, 5-1; Otto Becker, Germany, 7-1; Christian Ahlmann, Germany, and Marcus Fuchs, Switzerland, 8-1; Marco Kutscher, Germany, Ludo Phillippaerts, Belgium, and McClain Ward, USA, 10-1; Lars Nieberg, Germany, and Ian Millar, Canada, 12-1; Steve Guerdat, Switzerland, 15-1; Jessica Kurtan, Ireland, Robert Smith, Great Britain, Malin Baryard-Johnsson, Sweden, Laura Kraut, USA, Richard Spooner, USA, Schuyler Riley, USA, Anne Kursinski, USA, Lauren Hough, USA, Georgina Bloomberg, USA, and Kimberly Prince, USA, 20-1; and, Ali Nilforshuan, Iran, 50-1. Odds are subject to change.

The LVWI is rated a five-star event (CSI 5*) by the FEI, the only show in the United States to be rated at that level. Tickets, $75, $85, $100, $150, $225, $500 per night and $1,000 for two-day, VIP packages, are available at the Thomas & Mack Center box office in Las Vegas, by telepohone at 1-866-388-3267, at unlvtickets.com or at the Las Vegas Hilton. Ticket purchases are subject to transaction fees. Room reservations at the Hilton are available by calling 1-800-442-4002 or i4vegas.com.

ends

The FEI, headquartered in Lausanne, Switzerland, is the international sanctioning body for equestrian sport, and the United States Equestrian Federation (USEF), headquartered in Lexington, KY, is the national sanctioning body for the LVWI.

Equus Entertainment in Sports, Inc. of Las Vegas is the parent company of the LVWI. Its mission is to take show jumping to a new level in the U.S. As the sport’s worldwide popularity increases in the U.S., Equus is playing a major role in that growth by presenting the sport on television as never before. Equus’ coverage includes cutting edge techniques that utilize moving cameras at close proximity and low angles to show the extreme athleticism of horses and riders.

EDITOR’S NOTE: For more information about the International Equestrian Federation (FEI), visit www.horsesport.org.

The United States Equestrian Federation (USEF), which sanctions national events, is online at www.usef.org.

For more information about the Las Vegas World Invitational, visit www.lasvegasworldinvitational.com.