A day before Thoroughbred trainer Rick Dutrow was scheduled to relinquish his license to train horses for the next 10 years in New York state, a state judge put a temporary hold on the punishment handed down last week by racing regulators, according to the trainer’s lawyer.

Dutrow, slapped by the state’s racing board for what it called a pattern of license abuses–including numerous equine drug infractions–over the years in New York and elsewhere, was given a 30-day stay to give his lawyer time to appeal the punishment to state Supreme Court.

The stay issued by Judge Richard Giardino in Schenectady on Oct. 17 will allow Dutrow, who won the 2008 Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I) with Big Brown, to continue his training operation in New York as the legal wrangling shifts from a state regulatory body to the state’s court system.

"We are very satisfied with today’s decision, and we look forward to appealing the New York State Racing and Wagering Board’s decision in the courts," said Michael Koenig, Dutrow’s lawyer