Hayden Haitana, one of the central figures in the notorious Fine Cotton ring-in scandal, has had his lifetime ban from racetracks lifted.
The board of Racing Queensland on Friday agreed to a recommendation by stewards to lift the ban on Haitana, who has served 29 years.
Haitana, 68, wrote to officials last month pleading to be allowed to attend race meetings with his grandchildren.
RQ Chairman Kevin Dixon said Haitana had served his time and should be allowed to return to attend the races.
Haitana was the trainer of Fine Cotton when the racehorse was substituted by the well performed Bold Personality in the Commerce Novice Handicap at Eagle Farm on August 18, 1984.
Fine Cotton was the subject of a nationwide plunge when he was backed from 33-1 to 7-2 but the ring-in came unstuck when stewards noticed the deception before correct weight was declared.
They disqualified Fine Cotton before any money was paid out but the scandal plunged the racing industry into chaos and the fallout lasted for decades.
Haitana was one of six people banned for life by the Queensland Turf Club, the ruling body at the time, while the Australian Jockey Club in Sydney warned off bookmakers Bill and Robbie Waterhouse and seven others for having prior knowledge of the ring-in.
The Waterhouses were reinstated in 1998 but Haitana’s application in 2003 to have his ban lifted was denied.
Haitana served six months of a 12-month prison sentence for his part in the substitution while Robbie Waterhouse was given eight months periodic detention for lying to the Racing Appeals Tribunal.
Fine Cotton died in 2009 at the age of 31 after spending most of his life on the Brisbane property of film producer John Stainton who bought him a year after the scandal.
