NICK AND PAULINE FELICELLA (2008) by Randy Goulding

Nick and Pauline Felicella have been strong supporters of local racing since they first got involved in the sport in 1978. Not only have they won most of the important stakes races at Hastings, they own the all-time money-earning British Columbia-bred, Spaghetti Mouse. 

“We are so lucky to own a horse like Spaghetti Mouse,” said Nick.

“Spaghetti Mouse has truly been a special horse for us,” said Pauline. “He is such a beautiful horse and it is always moving to hear how the fans applaud him when he comes back after he runs.”

Nick, who was born and raised in Southern Italy, got his first exposure to horse racing at his restaurant, Nick’s Spaghetti House.

“People would come to the restaurant after the races. They all seemed to be having a good time and they had a lot of money to throw around,” he said. “They kept telling me I should buy a horse. Jack Diamond was a regular customer and he was always encouraging me to get involved.”

All of the Felicella’s good fortune stems from what has become a Vancouver landmark. Nick took over a small café on Commercial Drive in 1955 and turned it into one of the most popular Italian restaurants in Vancouver.

“I always loved to cook and of course I love Italian food,” said Nick. “When I took over the restaurant it was serving food like hamburgers and fish and chips. I changed the menu to Italian and eventually it worked out pretty good.”

Pauline, who grew up in Vancouver, met Nick at the restaurant.

“About three years later we were married,” said Pauline. “We lived in the back of the restaurant and raised our two children, John and Toni, there. We put a lot of hard work into making the restaurant what it is today.”

Nick and Pauline became partners in everything, including horse racing. The first horse they won with was Fire Ball.

“He was just a cheap horse, but it was fun to win a race with him,” said Nick.

Pauline remembers winning a race with Buddy Lea.

“Honestly, we had no idea what we were doing at the time,” she said. “We claimed Buddy Lea and it turned out he was a bowed horse. We didn’t know what that meant. We ran him back, he won and I framed the winning ticket.”

Nick and Pauline were without a horse after both Buddy Lea and Whispering Sal, another cheap horse they owned, were claimed. The restaurant was booming and they felt they could afford a little better horse.

Whispering Sal was claimed by William (Bud) MacDonald, so MacDonald was a little surprised when Nick asked him to train for them.

“Bud couldn’t believe I wanted him to be our trainer after he had claimed our horse,” said Nick. “I told him, what’s over is over. We did very well together and we also became very good friends.”

The first horse MacDonald trained for Nick and Pauline was Rambling Native. As a three-year-old in 1981, Rambling Native won five stakes races and was named Horse of the Year.

“The only thing was that he got beat in the derby,” said Nick. “It was a handicap then, and he carried 128 pounds. He just got a little tired in the last few steps.”

They sold Rambling Native in 2002, after he had won his first start of the year at Exhibition Park, to John Franks, who shipped him to Louisiana.

“Bud told us that he would have to carry too much weight running here and that he would probably break down,” said Nick. “We really didn’t want to sell him but we certainly didn’t want to hurt him.”

Next to Spaghetti Mouse, who won the 2005 B. C. Derby, Nick and Pauline rank Rambling Native as the second best horse they have owned.

“It was always our dream to win the derby,” said Nick. “Spaghetti Mouse will always be our favorite horse.”

Other stakes horses they have raced include Stop the Blues, who won the 1992 Premiers, and American Justice, who gave the Felicellas their second win in the Premiers eight years later.

They won their first Jack Diamond Futurity with Salt of the Sea in 1987. Two more came with Sharp Suspicion in 1992 and Desert Alf in 2007.

Chelsea’s Image held up the fillies end of things, winning the 2006 Sadie Diamond Futurity.

There is a real glimmer in Nick and Pauline’s eyes when they talk about their horses, especially Spaghetti Mouse. Pauline credits their passion for horse racing as a big reason they have stayed married for over 50 years.

“After the kids grew up and moved out, horse racing has been the most important thing in our life,” said Pauline. “We are always talking or fighting over the horses and, really, it has helped keep us together all this time.”

According to Pauline, Nick has the final say on all decisions regarding the horses.

“I’m old school,” she said. “He listens to what I have to say, but I let him make the final call.”

The Felicellas are very proud of the fact that they race mostly at Hastings and that all the money they earn in racing goes back into the local industry.

“Our whole goal is to win big races here,” said Nick. “We like to buy yearlings and then watch them grow up. We love the people here and we want to support them. The thrill of winning is what keeps us going and we have been very lucky so far.”

Nick and Pauline are frequently among the top buyers at the annual Canadian Thoroughbred Society’s Yearling Sale. It isn’t surprising that Dixie Jacobson, president of the B.C. division of the CTHS, gave an enthusiastic thumbs-up when she heard that Nick and Pauline were voted into the British Columbia Horse Racing Hall of Fame.

“They are two amazing people,” said Jacobson. “I can’t say enough about two great supporters of local racing. I am thrilled to hear they are being recognized.”