A group of people in the local horse racing industry is trotting out a plan to add race dates at the Leamington fairgrounds.

The effort comes as Windsor Raceway reaches the finish line and closes Friday.

Leamington hosts one sanctioned race each June during the town's annual fair. But a group of locals, including Essex County Warden Tom Bain, wants to increase that to 10 to 15 dates.

Bain says the horse industry is hurting with the closure of Windsor Raceway.

"A number of the owners are selling their horses and unfortunately, getting nothing for their horses. So we're really trying to save the horse industry," Bain says.

Bain says the idea is in the early stages. He says the group is working on a business plan for Leamington and working with the Ontario Racing Commission and the province.

"We're hoping to look for funding to really get us started," Bain says. "We're hoping in the end that we're going to be either self-sustaining or very close to self-sustaining by running a local operation."

Bain estimates that between 2,000 and 3,000 jobs are at stake locally.

"We realize that this is going to put a lot of pressure on the local agricultural society, but we've had a number of meetings with them, and they certainly are willing to work with us as horsemen, and hopefully we can put something together and have the Ontario Racing Commission okay what we're doing," Bain says.

The province has created a transition fund of $50 million to be used over the next three years. The local horsemen hope to tap into that funding for extra races in Leamington.