It was a $500 bet that almost anyone could have placed in San Antonio, with the potential of a $1 million payoff in Las Vegas.

But in the moment, no one was willing to gamble on the Pike Power replay button.

Instead, J.B. Mauney was offered a re-ride after Carrillo Cartel hung a horn, backed out of the gate and went right instead of spinning to the left. The unexpected change resulted in Mauney coming down in a matter of seconds.

Although it appeared as though L.J. Jenkins had won his first Built Ford Tough Series event of 2009, chute judge Monte Mask threw his red flag, and Mauney called for Carrillo Cartel to be reloaded in the chute.

On his second attempt, the North Carolinian made the whistle, won his third BFTS event of the year and moved passed Guilherme Marchi and into second place in the world standings, just behind Kody Lostroh.

Aside from the prize money, the successful re-ride gave Mauney a 209-point swing between the 89 points scored for the ride, the 90 points for a second-place finish in the short go, and 300 points for the win.

“A lot of different people have their opinions,” said Jenkins, when contact by phone Monday afternoon. “I mean, personally I think if they gave him a re-ride, they should have gave Aaron Roy a re-ride, because his bull did the same thing … hung a horn. That’s just all there is to it.”

During the Versus telecast, announcer J.W. Hart was adamant that a foul had not occurred, and that any one of the riders could call for a review. If the call is not overturned, the challenger is fined $500.

In his weekly blog, Ty Murray echoed Hart’s sentiments.

“Looking back on it and having watched the replay, do I think J.B. should have gotten a re-ride? No,” wrote Murray. “Do I think its J.B.'s fault? Not at all. Do I understand how the call got made? Absolutely. Do I think it's along the lines of other incidents that have resulted in re-rides in the past? Yes, I can see how that would happen.”

Jenkins said that he was just happy to have finally gotten his first qualified ride in seven short go appearances this year, and that the thought of challenging the ruling never crossed his mind.

“My mom asked me that this morning, and said that J.W. (Hart) said I should have hit the replay button,” he said, “but the thought never did cross my mind.

“I was just so happy to be up there and finally stay on a bull in the short round. I didn’t care what I ended up—second, first. First would have been great, but I’m going to take second.”

Not only was the outcome of the Bud Light Invitational affected, but with such a tight race for this year’s world title, so too were the world standings.

Both Hart and Murray publicly stated that any one of the 42 riders competing could have pushed the replay button. So too could any stock contractor or any one of the other three judges.

When interviewed this morning, Lostroh said that he was watching the event from the locker room “so it was not even possible for me to run out there and push it within 30 seconds. It wasn’t even a thought in my mind.”

The current world leader did, however, indicate that just last year he was faced with the same scenario as Jenkins.

Lostroh recalled the 2008 event in Portland.

Like Jenkins, he was on the shark cage with only Marchi left to ride, when Copperhead Slinger hung a horn. Marchi was given an option for a re-ride, which he accepted. He went on to win the event.

“I thought I had the event won and then they gave him a re-ride,” Lostroh recalled. “I actually did consider pushing the button that time, but it was just a thought and not something I was going to act on.

“When you’re winning an event and watch a guy get a gift, it’s a little tough to watch.”

However, none of the current and former bull riders can remember a rider calling for a replay that would effectively take points or the option of a re-ride away from a fellow rider.

But Lostroh added, “Now that everybody’s thinking about it, maybe someday we’ll actually see it.”

“There (were) three other judges that could have said, ‘Hey, let’s review it and make sure he gets a re-ride,’” Jenkins said. “None of them said it, so obviously all four of them thought he should have got a re-ride.”

Regardless of who could have or should have called for the replay, there were thousands of dollars at stake Sunday afternoon.

Mauney took home $44,514.40 for his second effort, while Jenkins earned $14,752.40 for his second-place finish.

“I already had it my head that I was going to win second,” Jenkins said, “so whenever that happened I was kind of shocked because the bull went right. Then I saw that re-ride flag and I knew he was going to win it. It was meant for him to win that event.

“I’m not disappointed. I’m not mad. I’m just happy that I stayed on three.”

— by Keith Ryan Cartwright