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War Emblem's owner skips Belmont Posted: Saturday June 08, 2002 4:09 PMNEW YORK (AP) -- Saudi Prince Ahmed bin Salman, who paid $900,000 for War Emblem nearly two months ago, was a no-show at Saturday's Belmont Stakes. Ahmed initially said he was coming to see War Emblem try to win the Belmont, which would make the colt racing's 12th Triple Crown winner. But he apparently changed his mind. New York Racing Association spokesman Glen Mathes said he wasn't at the track. Ahmed was a high-profile presence in the winner's circle after War Emblem's Kentucky Derby and Preakness victories. The prince led the colt into the winner's circle each time and kissed jockey Victor Espinoza and hugged trainer Bob Baffert. War Emblem would earn a $5 million bonus, in addition to the $600,000 purse, with a Belmont victory. The prince might have been ensnared in legal matters had he shown up. Famed palimony lawyer Marvin Mitchelson said he would try and collect a portion of War Emblem's winnings to satisfy a $216 million judgment against a Saudi Arabian sheik. Saudi King Fahd and his brother Prince Turki bin Abdul Aziz have already been named in a federal lawsuit filed by Sheika Dena Al Fassi, who separated from Sheik Mohammed Al Fassi in 1993 and was awarded an $81.5 million piece of his multibillion-dollar fortune. Mitchelson, who represents the sheika, said Mohammed Al Fassi is now claiming that members of the Saudi Arabian royal family, including Ahmed, have assumed control of his money and assets. Earlier, Ahmed had declined NYRA's offer to sit in a special section of the clubhouse that would have offered privacy to him and his 25-person entourage, which included several personal bodyguards. There were also concerns about having a prominent Saudi in New York after the Sept. 11 attack on the World Trade Center. Several Saudi nationals were identified among the terrorists. NYRA's security plan for Saturday included rooftop snipers and undercover officers working an expected crowd of 80,000.
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