He was the third son of Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, who later became governor of Riyadh and is the current king of Saudi Arabia.
[10] Ahmed bin Salman began horseracing activity with his college friend Richard Mulhall as his horse trainer and eventually his manager of racing operations.
[12] War Emblem was sold to Prince Ahmed just three weeks before the race after the horse won the Illinois Derby.
[16] In 1994, the operation resurfaced as The Thoroughbred Corporation, with Mulhall retiring as a trainer and taking on the job of racing manager.
The Thoroughbred Corp.'s roster reads like a who's who of racing in the past decade, with such greats as Sharp Cat, Lear Fan, Jewel Princess, Windsharp, Military, Royal Anthem, Anees, Officer, Habibti, Spain, 2001 Horse of the Year Point Given, and this year's dual classic winner War Emblem.
[16] Thoroughbred Corp. has approximately 60 horses in training, mostly stabled with Bob Baffert, D. Wayne Lukas, and John Shireffs, along with 45 broodmares, mostly at Mill Ridge Farm in Lexington.
His name will always be associated with War Emblem, his one Kentucky Derby winner, which he quipped was "one of the best investments I ever made in my life, besides buying oil in Saudi Arabia," after he won the Preakness.
[citation needed] Ahmed bin Salman died of heart failure at age 43 in Riyadh on 22 July 2002.
[18] He was buried in Al Oud cemetery on 23 July 2002 after funeral prayers at the Imam Turki bin Abdullah mosque in Riyadh.
[24] The story was strongly denied by his family, who claimed he admired the United States, spent a great deal of time at his home there in Bradbury, California, and had invested heavily in the American horse racing industry.