MOSES LAKE — It’s one thing to say the 75th annual Moses Lake Roundup will feature some of the best rodeo cowboys in the world. But it’s another to say it will feature three of The Very Best in the world when the rodeo kicks off Thursday night and runs through Saturday at the Grant County Fairgrounds.

The way it works in rodeo is that if a contestant is up on the same night at a different rodeo, they can go ahead and compete where they have the best chance to make money and cancel at the other.

All that aside, if the world goes according to the day sheets, Columbia Basin rodeo fans will have the chance to see three cowboys currently No. 1 in the world in the 2018 PRCA/Ram World Standings.

Strong City, Okla., cowboy Sage Kimzey ($225,118) is on top of the world in the bull riding with almost no one else in sight. Parker Breding of Edgar, Mont., is a distant second ($146,218), and third-place Dustin Boquet of Bourg, La., is nearly $130,000 behind the world leader. The top six in the current PRCA World Standings are scheduled to grace the Grant County Fairgrounds. Kimzey is scheduled to ride “Damn Straight,” a bull Garrett Tribble rode to an 89-point score to win last year, on Saturday night.

The weekend is also expected to feature 12 riders currently ranked in the top 36 in the world in saddle broncs, including No. 1 Jacobs Crawley of Boerne, Texas. Crawley, who came into Moses Lake last year ranked No. 1 in the world and ended up fifth after the National Finals Rodeo, is up on “Lance” on Friday night.

The world-class action won’t be confined to the rough stock. The timed event end has the No. 1 tie-down roper in the world Tyson Durfey of Weatherford, Texas, is scheduled to take his run in the Friday morning slack.

“The (Moses Lake Roundup) committee has done a great job with the added money, because that’s what attracts the top cowboys,” said Grand Coulee cowboy Shane Proctor, who won the all-around and bull riding in 2016. “I grew up on Corey & Lange stock. Mike (Corey) helps me out with bull riding schools I hold and it’s always good to get back here.”

The former PRCA world champion from up the road is currently ranked No. 48 and up on Friday night on “Knockin’ Around.” If all goes according to schedule, No. 2 Breding is up on “Muat Loat” on Thursday. No. 3 Boquet has drawn “Gravy Train” on Saturday. No. 4 Boudreaux Campbell of Crockett, Texas, is up on “American Grit,” on Saturday. No. 5 Joe Frost is up on Saturday, along with No. 6 Trey Benton III, Saturday. All in all, the Moses Lake Roundup is expected to feature 30 of the top 50 bull riders in the PRCA World Standings.

“This rodeo is what the backbone of rodeo really is,” said Crawley, who won a Moses Lake Roundup buckle in 2013 and has been coming back ever since. “The fans come out and the people are hospitable. We get to do our job.

“This is what rodeo’s all about. We put our hearts in it every year. I got a Moses Lake buckle and it’s rodeo’s like this that keep me doin’ what I’m doin’.”

Gates open at 5 p.m. each night. The grand entry is at 6:30 and the 75th annual Moses Lake Roundup is scheduled to kick up its heels at 7:30 p.m. at the Grant County Fairgrounds.