DES MOINES (AP) - The Iowa Court of Appeals on Wednesday sided with a state commission's decision not to reissue a racing license for a defunct greyhound park in Waterloo.

The appeals court affirmed a Black Hawk County District Court decision that upheld an earlier order issued by the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission.

The National Cattle Congress Inc. closed the Waterloo Greyhound Park in 1996 after financial troubles.

It sued the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission in 2005 for denying its application to reissue its earlier pari-mutuel racing license as well as a license for expanded gaming.

According to court records, the NCC did not want to pay the fees associated with a new application for a racing license. It petitioned the commission asking it to find that the NCC was automatically entitled to the pari-mutuel racing license and the expanded gaming license.

The commission noted that its rules say nothing about when an initial application or a renewal application must be filed. It concluded that the NCC had no existing license to renew, and that it would have to file a new application.