Leading New Zealand racehorse buyer David Ellis has been taken out of a coma in a Gold Coast hospital after being admitted for severe pneumonia.

Ellis, who runs Te Akau Racing, was in Queensland for last week's Magic Millions mixed horse sale when he contracted the illness.

He was placed in an induced coma to help his recovery but a statement from his wife Karyn Fenton-Ellis on Te Akau Racing's website says he was taken out of it on Wednesday.

"He is still unwell but awake and certainly doing much better," she said.

Ellis has been the leading New Zealand buyer at the Karaka yearling sales for some years and this year spent $A3.59 million to secure 31 yearlings.

Among the top horses Te Akau Racing has raced in recent years are Darci Brahma, Princess Coup, Kings Chapel, Rock n' Pop and Distinctly Secret.

It has racing stables in Matamata and Singapore as well as a breeding operation.

Ellis was an early supporter of Gai Waterhouse and owned the trainer's first Group One winner, Te Akau Nick, who claimed the 1992 Metropolitan Handicap and ran second in the Melbourne Cup the following year to Vintage Crop.