A MAN who had to be brought back to life at the May Racing Carnival hasn't lost his sense of humour.
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Ken Laws, 65, collapsed at the Warrnambool racecourse shortly before noon on Tuesday.
The Gisborne man said he owed his life to the quick-thinking actions of Rex Creed and Senior Constable Rachael McMahon, of Warrnambool police.
"I just want to thank them for their fast response and their expertise," Mr Laws said.
He said they administered CPR for six minutes to bring him back to life.
"I owe them my life, six minutes in that sort of situation would seem like an eternity."
Mr Laws was at the races to watch the horse he is a part-owner of, Bit of a Lad, compete in the Brierly Steeplechase.
"I took long service leave to go to the Warrnambool carnival for three days because it was on my bucket list and I almost kicked the bucket," he laughed.
Mr Laws said on Tuesday morning he had a bit of an ache in one of his arms, but he thought it was just because of the way he slept.
"I watched the first race and I walked around the back of the grandstand towards the betting ring and collapsed," he said.
"I just went down like a bag of spuds."
Mr Laws said he remembers talking to paramedics in the rescue helicopter en route to Geelong's Barwon Health University Hospital and telling them his horse was racing later that day.
He said he believed Tuesday was his lucky day, because not only was he brought back to life but his horse Bit of a Lad got up and won.
Mr Laws said he found out via text when he was undergoing the procedure to insert a stent after doctors discovered a clot in his heart.
"I gave the phone to one of the nurses and during the procedure there was a text message," he said.
"The nurse brought the phone over and showed me a text and said 'your horse has won'. That put me in good spirits while they were doing the procedure."
Mr Laws said he was relieved the incident occurred at a public place and not on his property near Gisborne.
"How lucky was I that it was there - it could have happened at home with no one around," he said.
Mr Laws has vowed to return to the May Racing Carnival next year.
He said he was recovering well and was up and about at the hospital on Friday.
"I'm feeling stronger every day," Mr Laws said.
Mr Laws also praised the racing club and chief executive officer Peter Downs for his support.
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