AMARILLO, Texas (AP) — An appeals court has ruled the nation’s pre-eminent quarter horse organization may refuse to register cloned animals.

The ruling Wednesday by a three-judge panel of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans trumps a lower-court ruling that had forced the American Quarter Horse Association to admit cloned quarter horses to its breeding registry. The prestigious list adds financial value to listed animals.

In August 2013, U.S. District Judge Mary Lou Robinson had issued a permanent injunction against the group’s prohibition after two Texas ranchers sued. The ranchers argued the association was operating a monopoly by not allowing clones.

The lower-court ruling would have set a precedent.