Locals connected to the horse racing industry are off to Queen's Park to protest the possibility of the government no longer sharing slot revenues. (CBC News)

Dozens of people connected to the local horse racing industry boarded a 'Bus of Hope' headed for Queen's Park on Wednesday.

The group will join several Ontario horse farmers, racers and supporters at a rally to ask the provincial government not to put a stop to slot revenue sharing with the horse racing industry.

'We just can't let the government take our industry away.'— Karen Duck

"I’m going to defend our industry. We just can’t let the government take our industry away," said Karen Duck, a third-generation horsewoman who was close to tears before boarding the bus in Windsor, Ont.

Ten cents of every dollar plunked into a slot machine is used to fund the race purses at the tracks. Ten cents also goes to the track owner. The Ontario horse racing industry annually receives $345 million from the remainder of slot machine revenues at race tracks across the province.

Mark Williams and his family have been in the horse industry for five generations. They own a stable in Essex County and Williams is the area director for the Ontario Harness Horse Racing Association

Williams said the horse industry was "rolling along just fine" when the government introduced slot machines to race tracks 12 years ago. There were 180 days of racing at Windsor Raceway then. Now, there are 90 days of racing.

"But we’re still a highly vibrant industry," Williams said.

Changes would 'absolutely finish racing'

He said the horse racing industry is linked directly or indirectly to 65,000 jobs provincewide and contributes $2.6 billion annually to the Ontario economy.

"If [Premier Dalton McGuinty] takes our revenue away, it will absolutely devastate and absolutely finish racing in Ontario," Williams said.

McGuinty said earlier this week the money might be better spent on healthcare, something Williams challenges.

"Having me and my family on the welfare line, for example, as opposed to contributing, as we have for generations, to the tax base - and having 65,000 of us standing there unable to contribute to healthcare - I feel is bad business," Williams said.

David Woods builds racing sulkies, the cart pulled by standard bred horses in harness racing.

"Without this industry my business would have to close up. And most of my business is local. It relies on the local industry," he said.