CHAIRMAN of the Lasco Group of Companies, Lascelles Chin, through their popular iCool brand, has now been added to an appealing line- up of sponsors for the lucrative Diamond Mile Race-Day at Caymanas Park.

The high-value event is set for Saturday December 5, with the main feature on the day being the 1,600-metre Supreme Ventures Limited (SVL) Diamond Mile race.

The Diamond Mile carries a record purse of $13.5 million (US$115,000), while the remaining races will each carry a minimum purse of $1 million for the first time ever in the history of horse racing in Jamaica.

The inaugural staging of the SVL-sponsored Diamond Race-Day is the biggest and richest in the English-speaking Caribbean and Chin believes it was natural for his brand to be aligned with this ground-breaking venture.

“This is the biggest race-day ever planned in Jamaica and of course, Lasco, with its successful drink products, in this case iCool, is a good combination,” Chin told journalists at a Jamaica Observer forum at the newspaper’s Beechwood Avenue headquarters on Monday.

“We were in racing some time ago, but if this turns out to be the big day that is being promoted then you can count on our support in the future, but really we wish the horse racing industry the best.”

Chin, who has contributed significantly to the Jamaican economic landscape and is passionate about the development of brand Jamaica, said the prospect of improving the horse racing industry was a plus for the company’s sponsorship of the Diamond Mile.

“If Lasco can help to build the industry then it really is a pleasure to work together to achieve that goal. At Lasco, we have so many offers but we really don’t accept to sponsor events unless we see where it makes a contribution to Jamaica,” the outstanding business leader noted.

“We are very happy to be in the racing, which is a part of our Jamaican psyche and of course Lasco is all Jamaican, and I am looking forward to the improvement of horse racing and the Diamond Mile. We think we are in good company and if this is a success, we will continue to lend Lasco’s name to the event,” Chin assured.

Catherine Goodhal,l marketing manager at Lasco for the iCool brand, shared a similar sentiment, while hinting at some finger-licking prospects in place for the day.

“We are excited to be on board [and] we are expecting great things,” said Goodhall.

“We expect a huge turnout. I am hearing great things about the race as people that I know who have never been to Caymanas Park before are getting their outfits and their hats ready. So iCool has a lot of on-the-ground activities planned to engage the patrons and we have some other surprises that you will only get to see if you come to the track,” she said.