At the age of 85, trainer D. Wayne Lukas told reporters at Churchill Downs this week he thinks he was already pretty good at appreciating each day in the barn, but a recent bout of COVID-19 has made him even more thankful to be there.
Lukas recently tested negative and returned to work after what he estimates was 15 to 20 days away from the barn – a major departure for a trainer who prides himself on being out on the pony before the sun is up each day. The Hall of Famer said that he went to the hospital after feeling ill and was initially told it was unlikely he had the novel coronavirus. The hospital sent him home. A few hours later, someone at the facility called and told him his test had come back positive. By then, Lukas already suspected that was the case.
Lukas said he struggled mightily to breathe, experienced gastrointestinal symptoms, and felt extremely weak. He did not experience joint aches and pains or lose his sense of smell and taste, as is commonly reported among those with mild cases.
“It affects everybody differently,” Lukas said. “It affected me very strongly. I got really sick.
“I don't think we really know a lot about it. even the medical people I think are still learning. That's going to make the vaccine, if we get it, it's going to be more difficult I think because I don't think they've got a good handle on it.”
At times, he said he faded in and out of consciousness.
“I felt like I was drifting away,” he recalled. “You just wish you could get one breath of air.”
Strangely, Lukas said his wife Laurie tested negative for COVID-19, despite being in close proximity to him throughout his illness. He also knows of others who have tested positive but never had symptoms.
Lukas said he has no idea how he picked up the virus, as he has strictly followed social distancing protocols at work each day and has refrained from going out to restaurants. When he's out at morning training, Lukas is usually on his pony, which creates an automatic six-foot perimeter around him, so he thought he had been sufficiently careful.
When he did begin to feel better, Lukas said he still kept away from his barn a few extra days to avoid transmitting the virus to his staff. Now, he said his energy levels are finally back where they should be.
As masking and distancing requirements drag on more than six months after the pandemic began, Lukas said he wants fans to know that although it's easy to get weary and less careful, it's important to continue doing everything they can to avoid transmitting COVID-19 to others.
“I just think people should not take it for granted or get complacent,” he said. “I'd keep my distance, wear my mask. I wouldn't tempt fate. I wouldn't give it a chance in any way, shape or form. If I could say one thing to people, I see people taking it lightly and I think that's a mistake, whether you're my age or 20.”
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