After Sovereignty’s Kentucky Derby win, the UAE’s prime minister has a shot at the Triple Crown

Sovereignty got the better of Journalism as the two horses raced down the final stretch of Saturday’s Kentucky Derby. It was a success more than four decades in the making for Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the leader of Dubai and the most influential owner in horse racing.

Sovereign wealth, particularly from oil-rich Persian Gulf states, has made an indelible mark on global sport. While involvement in soccer and golf has earned most of the headlines—and allegations of “sportswashing”—Sheikh Mohammed’s Godolphin has become the world’s largest Thoroughbred-racing operation. Even for a sport often plagued by scandal, however, the prime minister of the United Arab Emirates has been accused of being involved in serious controversies.