Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum lands in Los Angeles on the eve of the Belmont Stakes

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum flew from Iron Mountain Pumping Plant Airport in rural California to Los Angeles International Airport on June 7, 2026, a 31-minute hop aboard his Boeing 747-433M Combi, A6-COM. The aircraft, a combi model capable of carrying both passengers and horses, touched down at 05:40 local time after a brief climb to 43,025 feet.

The flight comes the same week the 2026 Belmont Stakes is set to be run at Saratoga Race Course on June 8, per the National Thoroughbred Racing Association schedule. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum's Godolphin stable has a leading contender in the race, the final jewel of the US Triple Crown, continuing a pattern of the ruler personally attending major North American equestrian events. The trip follows his recent flights from Louisville, Kentucky, to Los Angeles on June 1, likely connected to the Kentucky Derby earlier that month, and a string of movements between the UAE, Morocco, Spain, and the US over the prior week.

The ruler's presence on the West Coast also aligns with the end of the Santa Anita Park spring meet in Arcadia, where Godolphin routinely races its North American string. The combi aircraft's design — part passenger, part cargo — means it likely ferried not just the Sheikh but a complement of horses and tack, standard procedure for the Dubai Royal Air Wing's equestrian logistics.