John Cashman, president of the former Castleton Standardbred operation in Lexington for more than 20 years and the father of New York Yankees general manager Brian Cashman, died Sept. 22 in Atlantis, Fla., from cancer. He was 72.
Castleton was owned by the Van Lennep family and was one of the largest Standardbred breeding operations in the country before being purchased by the Ryan family in 2001 and returned to its former use as a Thoroughbred nursery under the name Castleton Lyons.
An influential leader in the harness industry, Cashman also served a term on the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission, was vice chairman of the American Horse Council, and a director of the Maxwell Gluck Equine Research Center and the Grayson Foundation. Cashman had also served as president of Pompano Park, the Red Mile, and Tattersalls Sales Company, and was inducted into the Harness Racing Hall of Fame.
A funeral mass is scheduled for Sept. 26 in Lantana, Fla., and in lieu of flowers donations can be made to the Harness Racing Hall of Fame, 240 Main Street, Goshen, N.Y. 10924