Bowen was born on December 23, 1942. He grew up in
Fort Lauderdale, Florida, where he was influenced by a father who liked horses. He rode ponies as a boy and became a fan of thoroughbred racing from watching races on television. In 1960 he attended the
University of Florida to study journalism then in 1963 transferred to the
University of Kentucky, a move that allowed him to also write for the
Lexington-based
The Blood-Horse magazine. In 1968 he accepted a job in
Canada as editor of
The Canadian Horse. In 1970 he returned to work for
The Blood-Horse as its managing editor, remaining with magazine for another twenty-three years and rising to be its editor-in-chief. Bowen was the author of eighteen books, including the two-volume set,
Legacies of the Turf. He penned the story of ''
Man o' War, the first book in the Thoroughbred Legends'' series published by
Eclipse Press. For the series, he also authored the books on
War Admiral,
Nashua, and
Bold Ruler. Bowen's most recent book was
Matriarchs, Volume 2: More Great Mares of Modern Times , released in October 2008. Bowen was the recipient of a number of industry awards including the 1972
Eclipse Award for Outstanding Magazine Writing. Bowen died in
Versailles, Kentucky, on January 20, 2025, at the age of 82. ==Bibliography==