A New York appeals court has ruled that a Spanish yacht club will be an official challenger in the next America's Cup yacht race, handing a significant victory to the defending champions Alinghi.
The ruling reversed a lower court's ruling, declaring invalid a challenge by the Spanish club Real Federation Espanola de Vela, in favour of a challenge by the US syndicate BMW Oracle.
Swiss-based Alinghi, which is sponsored by the Geneva yacht club, has sparred for months with BMW Oracle, which is owned by Silicon Valley billionaire Larry Ellison, over how, when and where the prestigious race should be held.
