Chart-topping $5 million racing sire Judys Lineage was euthanized October 12. He was 28.
A 1989 sorrel tobiano stallion by Special Lineage (TB) and out of Judys Chick, Judys Lineage was bred by Chuck Bowlan of Tecumseh, Oklahoma, and owned by Chuck in partnership with his father, Henry.
“He was born here and died here—there aren’t too many horses like that anymore; he was totally part of our family,” Bowlan Farms matriarch Linda said. “Watching his babies grow up and race was like watching our own kids.”
The stallion earned more than $45,000 on the track himself—winning nine of 15 starts and earning a speed index of 95—and he was crowned the 1992 APHA Champion Running 3-Year-Old and Champion 3-Year-Old Colt.
“He always knew he was top dog, and he’d still come prancing up to the fence in his old age,” Henry said. “But when he got into the gate at the racetrack, he was all business.”
After retiring from racing and siring his first foal crop in 1994, Judys Lineage’s legacy continued to grow. He sired 937 foals, including 471 that have raced to date. Collectively, his foals captured 637 wins—including 108 stake wins—out of 4,592 starts to earn more than $5.6 million. To date, Judys Lineage is ranked second on APHA’s Lifetime Leading Sires chart by money earned.
His offspring include World Champion Running Paint Horses My Name Is Joe (2002), Treasured Judy (2003) and I Do One Two Three (2010); 25 Champion runners; world champions in Jumping (2002) and Pole Bending (2003); and reserve world champions in Barrel Racing (2010), Stake Race (2010), Novice Amateur Barrel Racing (2014) and Youth Working Cow Horse (2017).
“Chuck would always say ‘Judy’ would be the Three Bars (QH) of the Paint Horses—he was special, and he knew he was special; horses like him only come along once in a lifetime,” Linda said. “We’re just proud of all he accomplished and what all his sons and daughters accomplished.
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About APHA
The American Paint Horse Association is the world’s second-largest equine breed association, registering more than a million horses in 59 nations and territories since it was founded in 1962. Its mission is to inspire, nurture, promote and provide meaningful experiences to generations interested in preserving the versatile Paint Horse.