A True Gentleman of the Sport: Edward L. Bowen (1942-2025)

The sport of horse racing is one awash in stories. On any given day, fans can find racetrackers with an endless supply of anecdotes about the horses and people that they have seen, the major players whose names dot our record books. These raconteurs are our living history and listening to and recording their tales weave together the fabric of the sport’s past and give us new insights into our present. 

Edward L. Bowen, former BloodHorse editor, author, and historian, was one of those storytellers, a man who loved every facet of racing and made it his life’s mission to share its stories. 

Born in Welch, WV, Bowen grew up in South Florida. His interest in horseback riding and catching racing on television inspired his love of horses and racing. After high school, he started his education at the University of Florida, spending his summers writing for a local newspaper and building experience with the sport, including working with broodmares at Ocala Stud and a stint as a groom and hot walker at Monmouth Park. In the early 1960s, Bowen went to work for The BloodHorse, eventually rising to the position of editor-in-chief from 1987-1992. He then went to work for the Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation, which funds veterinary research for all horses, and served as president from 1994 until his retirement in 2018.

Over his many decades in the sport, Bowen wrote countless articles for BloodHorse, Keeneland Magazine, and more, as well as 22 books on the sport, his subjects ranging from the matriarchs that gave birth to Hall of Famers to a book on the 13 Triple Crown winners. He became the ultimate example of institutional knowledge, a walking encyclopedia of pedigrees, race results, and more. If a writer needed help finding information or clarifying complex issues, he would sit down with them and ensure that they walked away with whatever they needed to satisfy their query. This was the context for my introduction to Ed Bowen.

Back in 2015, I was working on my first book Sir Barton and the Making of the Triple Crown, and reached out to Bowen via letter to inquire about sources he used for a chapter on trainer H.G. Bedwell in the book Masters of the Turf. His look at the career of the Oregon native and later trainer of America’s first Triple Crown winner was the most complete portrait of Bedwell that I had read and I knew whatever sources he used would be helpful for my own examination of Sir Barton and his career. Bowen reached out to me and kindly guided me through finding the information I sought. We became friendly through emails and phone calls as we exchanged tidbits and observations about the sport and its history. 

Bowen was one of the people who suggested I seek out the University Press of Kentucky, which has published my first two books and will publish my current work-in-progress A Crown Most Splendid. When I started work on my second book, The Foxes of Belair: Gallant Fox, Omaha, and the Quest for the Triple Crown, he was the first to offer resources that would become crucial to that project. He supported every writer that crossed his path, offered advice, contributed jacket quotes, and asked questions, his appetite for racing and its stories, past and present, never truly satiated. 

Bowen has also been a key figure for the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame, serving as a trustee, chairing the HOF’s Nomination Committee, the selection committee for the Joe Hirsch Media Roll of Honor, and the Historical Review Committee. He was previously a member of both the Pillars of the Turf Committee as well as the Steeplechase Review Committee. His voice was a trusted one for anyone working with the Hall of Fame, a person who either could answer any query immediately or would help find the answer if he was uncertain. 

At every turn, not only was Bowen a knowledgeable and erudite scholar of the sport, but also a gentleman, soft-spoken and kind. He devoted his life to racing, a familiar sight at Keeneland during its race meets, and a frequent consumer of televised racing. His list of contributions and honors, everything from Eclipse Awards to Kentucky Colonelcy, is long, but truly his biggest impact was the relationships he built with people from every corner of the country and the industry, an advocate for the horses, the people, and their stories in every facet of his life. He truly will be missed.