The Calgary Stampede Rangeland Derby kicked off last night and it was Vern Nolin who rode off with the top time of the night.

He beat out John Walters by just 7 one-hundredths of a second.

Day 1 Aggregate results saw High Rivers Jason Glass in a distant 12th and Jordie Fike in 30th.

Okotoks Mark Sutherland was a little closer but still far away in 10th.

The top 8 in the aggregate will head into semi final Saturday on July 16 and the top 4 times from the two semi-final heats will head into the winner take all championship final heat.

The winner of the final heat will take the title of 2016 Calgary Stampede Rangeland Derby Champ.

Racing gets under way again tonight at 7:30pm.