Canani emigrated to the United States in 1954, and settled in
California where he began working for racehorse trainer
Tommy Doyle. In 1968, he obtained his trainer's license and over the next few years earned a reputation for developing claiming horses into
stakes race winners. In 1993, having won numerous major California races including the prestigious
Santa Anita Handicap, Canani took a break from racing until the spring of 1997 when he returned to operate the Nick Canani Racing Stable at
Hollywood Park Racetrack. He went on to win the 1999 and 2001 editions of the
Breeders' Cup Mile and in 2004 the
Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies.
Canani was afflicted with dementia in recent years. He died on February 5, 2021, at
Huntington Hospital in
Pasadena, California. He was 82, and contracted
COVID-19 in the time leading up to his death.[1]