Although technically, after yesterday's decision, the race will cease to exist.
That is because the White Robe Lodge Handicap will be in search of a new name.
Part of the case that the club put forward to have the decision to downgrade the race overturned was that its conditions would change from handicap to weight for age.
That will have the club and its longtime sponsor looking for a slight name adjustment for the lower South Island's most prestigious race.
To say the club was pleased the Pattern Committee turned around its earlier decision to downgrade the race was an understatement, Otago Racing Club chief executive officer Hannah Catchpole said.
The race's sponsor, Brian Anderton, of White Robe Lodge, was also pleased with the decision.
''It's great news - we are thrilled that it is holding its status rather than being lowered,'' he said.
''In Otago and Southland it is the only chance for us to compete in a group 3, so I think it is great for Southern racing.''
The White Robe Lodge Handicap was downgraded after the Pattern Committee's annual investigation into the strength of the previous season's group and listed races in New Zealand.
Those races should reach a target rating each year, though a secondary bare-minimum target is also applied.
The White Robe had failed to meet its target rating of 105 points in the previous four seasons and failed to meet its bare-minimum target of 102 in three of those four seasons.
In the Pattern Committee's process, first and second warnings are placed on races before they are downgraded. Though the Wingatui race has staved off the downgrade, it remains on a second warning and is still one bad year away from losing its group 3 status.
That means it is vital that it attracts a quality field this season, something the Pattern Committee has warned the Otago Racing Club of.
''The committee noted that this would be the final opportunity for the race to get the quality of field required to retain its group rating,'' a New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing statement said.
The change to weight-for-age conditions will make the race more attractive for high-class horses that previously would have had to carry big weights under its handicap conditions.
But with only five horses in Southland and Otago with ratings higher than 92 - Tommy Tucker, Coulee, Irish Excuse, Patrick Erin and Gallant Boy - the club will be relying on horses from Canterbury and possibly the North Island to boost the race.
