Mr Coghlan was a long-serving committee member and chairman of the Burrumbeet Park and Windermere Racing Club and Ballarat Turf Club .

He spent 69 years on the committee and 49 years as chairman at Burrumbeet from 1954 to 2003.

The on-course betting ring was named in his honour in 2008 in recognition of his contribution at committee level, as a trainer and a breeder.

He attended nearly every Burrumbeet Cup since he was a child.

Mr Coghlan’s life was spent at the Ceres Homestead, near Learmonth, where he helped his father train horses.

Ceres was first bought by his grandfather, before it eventually passed to him and his wife, Mary. The couple produced fine merino wool and bred horses there, before moving to Ballarat in 1979.

Ballarat Turf Club chief executive Lachlan McKenzie said Mr Coghlan was an icon of the racing industry in the Ballarat region.

“He was a chairman at the Burrumbeet Park and Windermere Racing Club for 49 years, which is extraordinary, and would have to be a world record for a community-based not-for-profit club,” he said.

“On the basis of the amount of time he spent in charge of both clubs, it reflects his commitment to country racing and both clubs are in a strong position now and well considered as being leading clubs in their area.

“It was not just the common social side of big race days, he loved it all from administration, to horse training and breeding, he was just a lover of all things racing and put his life into it.”

Mr Coghlan was instrumental in negotiating a percentage of the on-course betting revenue for the Ballarat Turf Club.

He was also involved with racing and had horses train with the Smerdon family and Darren Weir.

Mr McKenzie said he was a kind and caring person with a great sense of humour.

“He was very engaging and always had time to speak to people, particularly for young people,” he said.

Mr Coghlan was a life member at both the Burrumbeet and Ballarat clubs.

The Ballarat Turf Club presented him with an outstanding contribution award in 2013.