Visitation and a celebration of life will be held this Friday (Nov. 23) in Lancaster, Ont. for longtime sportscaster Randy Tieman, a horse racing fan who often put the sport in the spotlight during his career of more than three decades in Montreal television.
He collapsed and passed away at his home in Williamstown, Ont. on Friday (Nov. 16), at the age of 64.
Tieman worked 34 years for the CTV station in Montreal and retired in 2017 when it abruptly axed its sports department.
“He loved racing, loved to bet his $2 and have some fun,” said Graeme Mitchell, who worked with Tieman on the independently-produced horse racing show ‘Horse World,’ which ran on CTV stations nationally in 2005 and 2006.
Mitchell recalls one of the shows where he and the ever-jovial Tieman were grooms for a day.
“He was better at it. He had a farm, owned horses. I was a condo guy,” Mitchell said.
Tieman was the key to getting the show on the air, Mitchell said. “It had to be professional, and Randy brought that. Everybody respected him.”
Former broadcasting colleague Ron Francis owned a pacer with Tieman in the 1980s.
“We both put in $1,000 and bought a third of a horse called Silent Chant,” Francis recalled. “He raced five or six times at Blue Bonnets and I don’t think he finished better than sixth. We never cashed a cheque. But we had some laughs. He’d just shake his head after and say ‘so what or what.’”
“He had a lot of sayings,” added Mitchell. “The one that I will always associate with him was ‘ya never know.’”
Mitchell said that after Blue Bonnets in Montreal closed 10 years ago, Tieman and his family would celebrate his birthday every year at Rideau Carleton Raceway in Ottawa.
Tieman had faced serious health challenges, including lymphoma, meningitis and a quintuple bypass during a brutal two-year period in the 1990s, but remained upbeat.
“He used to say ‘why would I worry? My wife worries enough for the both of us,’” Francis said, adding, “he was one of those rare people that no one, ever, said a bad word about. There aren’t many walking this earth.”
Tieman is survived by his wife of 32 years, Liane, children Gabrielle, Jesse, Dennis and Harry, and brother Barry.
Visitation will be from 1 to 4 p.m. Friday at Munro & Morris Funeral Home in Lancaster, with the celebration of life at 4 p.m.
Please join Standardbred Canada in offering condolences to the family and friends of Randy Tieman.
(A Trot Insider Exclusive by Paul Delean)
Randy was a fine friend for
Randy was a fine friend for 37 years. Jack, he often mentioned you from early days in Exeter. And, did follow success of your horses, over the years.
Randy and I grew up and went
Randy and I grew up and went to school together in our home town of Exeter. Our families were very close. Even back then he was just as he is described in this article - fun loving, jovial and a fun guy to be around. After he moved to Montreal to work for CTV our paths crossed over the years back in Exeter, and in South Florida when he was covering the Expos spring training, and I was racing at Pompano Park. He was always interested in my horses and how they were doing. Ron Francis - I didn't know that Randy ever owned a racehorse or that you worked together. Small world. We lost a good one in Randy.