Flamboyant gambler and racehorse owner Harry Findlay can return to his beloved sport after it was decided he had "suffered enough" in being banned from Royal Ascot.

The Wiltshire odds wizard, who jointly owned Gold Cup winner Denman with Ditcheat farmer Paul Barber, was left devastated a month ago when he was banned for placing bets on one of his horses to lose a race.

His six-month disqualification was overturned last week when he appealed to the British Horseracing Authority, who decided the original judgement panel had been wrong to give him such a Draconian punishment.

Mr Findlay said all he wanted to do was clear his name – and make sure punters and those in the racing industry knew he was not "dishonest in some way".

Mr Findlay, who makes his living betting on a huge range of sports, had admitted he placed bets that one of his horses, the Paul Nicholls-trained Gullible Gordon, would not win at meets in Exeter and Chepstow in 2008 and 2009.

But he had earlier placed much larger sums that the horse would win, and was merely "softening his losses" if the horse did not pass the finishing line first.

His six-month ban was overturned and reduced to a £4,500 fine – the amount of losses he covered by making the original bets.

The BHA's appeals panel made it clear there was no suggestion the integrity of the race had been jeopardised, or that Mr Findlay had influenced the running of his own horse.

They overturned the ban, saying the flamboyant owner had suffered enough. The appeals panel statement said: "The result could have been a substantial overall fine. However, we cannot undo the fact that Mr Findlay has suffered disqualification and the indignity of it for over a month now.

"That will remain with him and we regard it as a serious penalty in itself. He was, for example, prevented from attending Royal Ascot.

"We consider that a fine, removing the extra profit made from the Chepstow affair, namely £4,500, will suffice in the particular circumstances of this case."

Mr Findlay's solicitor Daryl Cowan said: "For Harry, there was no corruption, no intention to profit at the expense of others and he was entirely open about what he did. Harry's main concern throughout has been to clear his name.

"While most people within the racing industry recognised that Harry was in no way dishonest, he was distraught."

In the run up to the appeal hearing it was announced that Mr Findlay and Mr Barber had mutually agreed to end their association. Mr Barber said at the time that he thought Mr Findlay had been harshly treated.

Mr Findlay will no longer have horses with Paul Nicholls, the trainer of Denman and the horse Denman will now be owned solely by Mr Barber.

Big Fella Thanks, another high-profile horse co-owned by the pair, will run in the colours of Findlay's mother, Maggie and is moving from the Ditcheat stables Ferdy Murphy's stables in North Yorkshire.

Mrs Findlay said: "We have had horses at Ditcheat for eight or nine years and many people there will know just how honest and straight Harry is with his gambling."

After winning his appeal Mr Findlay thanked several of his supporters with special mention for Mr Barber. He said: "Special thanks go to Paul Barber, who never wavered."