Carole Star Stables

Owner: Bob Apicelli | Born: October 4, 1948 | Birthplace: Long Branch, N.J. | Residence: Oceanport, N.J.

First Win: Precious Franca, Monmouth Park, 2016 | Tampa Trainer: Jose H. Delgado

Retired schoolteacher Bob Apicelli operates a blue-collar stable, and the results are providing him with plenty of excitement on the competitive Tampa Bay Downs and Monmouth Park circuits. In Oldsmar last season, Carole Star posted six victories, a season after its 16 were good for a runner-up finish to Winning Stables’s 27. Carole Star then finished in a tie for fourth at Monmouth with seven winners. Carole Star Stables is run by trainer Jose H. Delgado, who is married to Apicelli’s daughter Robyn. Apicelli enjoys watching the races with his 10-year-old grandson, Sebastian. Carole Star Stables is named for Apicelli’s late wife Carole, and the stable silks have three stars, representing Sebastian and his sisters, 6-year-old twins Carole and Isabella (Apicelli has three other grandchildren from another daughter). Primarily a claiming stable, Carole Star finished fourth in the 2019-2020 Tampa Bay Downs standings with 12 victories. Among Carole Star’s top horses since its formation in 2015 is Spring Up, a Florida-bred gelding who earned more than $450,000 while winning 16 races.