The West Virginia-born Bowen forged a career as a racing journalist, serving as editor-in-chief of The Blood-Horse, where he started working in 1963, from 1987 to 1992. Capping off his career, for 24 years he was president of the Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation.

Bowen was editor of a monthly, Canadian Horse magazine in Toronto, from 1968-70 before returning to Lexington to work as managing editor of The Blood-Horse. In January 1987, he succeeded his mentor Kent Hollingsworth as editor-in-chief for five years. He became senior editor in 1992, left in 1993, and was hired as president in 1994 by Grayson-Jockey Club, the leading source of funding for veterinary research to promote horse health and soundness.

In 2022 Bowen was recognized as the Thoroughbred Club of America's Honor Guest at an annual testimonial dinner for his stewardship of the sport of horse racing.

"The Thoroughbred Club of America is delighted to name Edward Bowen as its 2022 Honor Guest," said club president Tony Lacy at the time. "Ed is respected worldwide for his integrity, talent, and love of racing, and his wide-ranging contributions to the horse industry cannot be overstated. He has been the steward of such cornerstone institutions as the Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation and BloodHorse, an Eclipse Award-winning journalist, prolific author, and guardian of the important history of our great sport. We congratulate Ed and thank him for his lifelong commitment to the betterment of racing."

According to a 2022 BloodHorse story, in addition to his work at that publication and Canadian Horse, Bowen was published in Southern Living, Toronto Star, Bloodstock Breeders' Review in England, Thoroughbred Times, Lexington Herald-Leader, Sun-Sentinel in south Florida, Courses & Elevage in France, Futurity in Japan, and Argentina's Jockey Club.

Bowen was a winner of NTWAB's Walter Haight Award for career excellence in writing; an Eclipse Award winner in the magazine division; a recipient of the Kentucky Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders' Charles Engelhard Award and Pimlico's Old Hilltop Award; named to ForeWord Magazine's Gold Level designation in sports; and was presented the Ocala-Marion County Chamber of Commerce Journalism Award.

Bowen was still such an enthusiastic member of NTWAB, he paid his 2025 dues a year in advance.

The 54th Annual Resolute Racing Eclipse Awards on Thursday, Jan. 23 will honor the memory of Bowen, who was a script writer for the event since its inception in 1971.

“For more than half a century, Ed Bowen’s words described the most memorable moments of the sport as captured each year during the Eclipse Awards. His list of accomplishments includes an Eclipse Award for magazine writing in 1972, thousands of articles and nearly two dozen books on Thoroughbred breeding and racing. Before the Internet, Wikipedia and Artificial Intelligence, there was Ed Bowen,” said Tom Rooney, President and CEO of the National Thoroughbred Racing Association.

A past president of the Thoroughbred Club of America, Bowen was also a former board member of the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation and a trustee of the National Museum of Racing, for which he served for some 35 years as chairman of its Hall of Fame Nominating Committee in addition to a chairmanship of its Joe Hirsch Media Roll of Honor Selection Committee.

Bowen was married to Ruthie Bowen with whom he had a son, George. According to the 2022 BloodHorse story, Bowen also was the father of daughters Jennifer Schafhauser (Eric) and Tracy Bowen and the grandfather of Emily Schafhauser and Julia Schafhauser.

--By Dick Downey