It was sweltering in Saratoga Springs, New York, on the second Sunday of August, when 400 racing executives decided to discuss the dead horse situation.

The horsemen had filled a ballroom at the Gideon Putnam, a gargantuan brick resort near the town’s famous racetrack, for the 67th annual “Round Table Conference On Matters Pertaining to Racing.”

Specifically, one matter pertained a lot to racing: the possible end of it. The past six months had produced protests across the country, a flood of articles investigating the industry, and calls from legislators for an outright racing ban.