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A 35-year-old legal officer has become the first woman to be elected to the chair of a metropolitan race club in Australia.

Mary Collier will be the first woman to head a city race club after she was elected to the Brisbane Turf Club's premier post at the club's annual general meeting.

Collier, who works with the Queensland Law Reform Commission, headed a reform team that won control of the commitee from deposed chairman Ian McGrath.

McGrath and two other commitee members were dumped from their positions in the annual BTC election this week.

Long-serving members Gordon Lambert and former chief executive Roy Beckerman lost their positions to Brisbane businessmen Paul Williams, Wayne Purchase and Randy Pascual.

Brad Ryan, a 34-year-old accounant, was elected as the new deputy chairman to give the BTC the youngest executive of any major club Australia.

Collier was elected to the BTC board four years ago while Ryan has been on the commitee for five years.

Collier was one of the eight former board members who refused to back a merger between the BTC and QTC but has promised a membership vote on the merger proposal will be allowed as soon as possible.

The merger plan has been opposed by many BTC members as they fear it will lead to Doomben racecourse being sold to finance a redevelopment of Eagle Farm.