Growing up on a horse farm in rural Maryland meant riding to a hang-out spot was more than just hopping on your bike or in someone’s car to go have fun. You could saddle up and head down to the Wilcom’s Inn, a historic roadhouse at the end of a drag strip near Frederick, Maryland and hitch your horse up right outside.
Alyse Cohen’s memories of that sort of place, where everyone wanted to be on Friday and Saturday nights, started her on her current path. Her father Randy used to take her to another Frederick staple called the Cracked Claw, a seafood restaurant turned off-track betting parlour that was legendary in the area.
When the family that owned the Cracked Claw closed the business in 2011, the OTB licence for Frederick County was available. Cohen, 36, who along with her family had a hotel and conference centre in Frederick, felt an opportunity to come full circle with her childhood and decided to acquire the vacant OTB licence. In July 2019, Long Shot’s, Cohen’s restaurant and OTB, opened.
And then 2020 hit.
Covid pause tested everyone
When the Covid-19 pandemic shutdowns began in earnest in spring 2020, no sector in the country – or in most of the world for that matter – was spared. While hospitals were overrun with very sick patients and people practiced social distancing, sports and entertainment venues shut down to try to contain the spread of the virus.
That year, the traditional Triple Crown horse races were postponed for months. The Belmont Stakes actually became the first race of the series, with a 20 June race day followed by the Kentucky Derby on 5 September and the Preakness on 3 October.
But even with that topsy-turvy schedule, Long Shot’s was able to take advantage of the pent-up demand for live sporting events. “We had the second-highest grossing handle and we beat out MGM on Derby Day,” Cohen says with a smile. “It’s always fun for me to tell everybody I beat MGM.”
“A lot of that is attributable to the geography, the location” of Long Shot’s, she added.
Maryland had always had a strong racing and on-track betting history. The Preakness Stakes has been part of the state’s sporting life since 1873. Horse farms and breeders dot the countryside. Off-track betting has been allowed in the state since 1992.
In November 2020, a referendum allowing legalised sports gambling in the state passed. Governor Larry Hogan signed HB 940, a detailed framework of what legal wagering would look like, in May 2021, making it official. Retail sports gambling took off in December 2021 while mobile operators launched online books in November 2022.
Sports betting was supposed to be a saviour
The Maryland bill has baked into it a requirement that 5% of ownership in each Class B sportsbook should be held by a woman or a minority. “I guess that never really had been done before,” Cohen said. “It’s unprecedented. That put me as the only 100% woman-owned sportsbook in America.”
Long Shot’s was among a handful of OTBs awarded an in-person sports betting licence. Cohen signed a deal with Betfred in 2023. Betfred eventually pulled out of the US market, however, ending the partnership with Cohen and Long Shot’s in July 2024. In December 2024, Cohen and Long Shot’s were approved by the Maryland Lottery and Gaming Control Commission to partner with Caesars Sportsbook.
OTB owners in Maryland believed that retail sports betting would be a boon. And at first, it was. Legal sports betting was new to Maryland in 2021 and brick-and-mortar locations were the only places to make a bet. But when digital sports betting went live in November 2022, the impact was immediate. With national companies like BetMGM, DraftKings, Fanatics and FanDuel offering betting from mobile devices, traffic at the OTB sportsbooks plummeted.
“We want to thrive, not just survive,” Cohen testified at a Maryland house hearing on 12 March. She said that handle has dropped 33% since sports betting went online in Maryland in November 2022. In-person betting went live about a year earlier in December 2021.
“We were once hopeful that retail sports betting would provide a much-needed sales boost,” Cohen said. “We’ve instead seen the entirety of sports betting go online.”
Online casino, HHR could help
In states with digital sports betting across the nation, 95% or more of handle comes online rather than at retail sportsbooks.
According to iGB’s reporting, through January 2024 bettors in Maryland had wagered a combined $12.2 billion and the state earned $143.2 million in tax revenue. From October to November 2022, when mobile wagering launched, the state’s handle rose from $39.7 million to $219 million.
In 2025, the question is: What’s next? Maryland lawmakers have entertained bills that would legalise online casino and historical horse racing (HHR) machines. Cohen has been at the forefront of the arguments that the OTBs be included in both.
The online casino bills appear to be at a standstill. Regional casino companies argue that the potential for cannibalisation from online casino will damage their businesses. And small businesses argue that if online casino moves forward, they should be included. The current bills would not allow for OTBs and other Class B licensees to offer online gambling.
“I disagree that igaming will ruin brick-and-mortar,” Cohen said at a January informational hearing. “Rather, retail and online must be viewed as two equally important aspects of the same business. Both build upon the other as consumers look for dynamic ways to engage in gaming. Sports betting and igaming are complements.”
With regard to HHR, Cohen sees it as a natural extension for OTBs. Two bills are moving through the legislature that would allow the machines – which resemble traditional slot machines – in OTBs only. Major casino companies oppose the proposals, saying it will divert business from them and that the proposed tax rate isn’t high enough.
Could HHR be the lifeline for Maryland’s retail sportsbooks? https://t.co/yhZ6izQsfq pic.twitter.com/pfIBhkdlk5
— iGB (@iGamingBusiness) March 4, 2025
Willingness to do whatever’s needed
Cohen’s push to find a new revenue stream isn’t surprising. She was a key voice for small business when sports betting was legalised.
“I’m sure there was a healthy dose of naivete when I did all of this,” Cohen says. “Remember, we are a small business…. As a small business, I saw the death of OTBs without having some sort of other demand generator, some sort of driver. It was simply we’ve got [food and beverage], we’ve got a great location, but we need more to bolster this.
“Horse racing is really a dying thing, you know. We’re down to 127 race days, seven of which are the Maryland State Fair,” she said.
With her handle down because of fewer live days, something had to be done.
“You have to fight,” she said. “You have to offer in-store promotions. We need the best food and beverage, the best in-house promotions, that sort of promotion to go along with gambling. We have a 90-foot TV wall, and a Vegas-style sportsbook that’s 8,000 square feet. What’s going to get you off your butt on your couch at home? There are all these angles that you have to work constantly.”
“Alyse is really a powerhouse,” says Jeff Ifrah, a lawyer specialising in igaming who helped steer her to the partnership with Caesars. “She’s probably one of the maybe two or three super strong women entrepreneurs in Maryland who are recognised for their achievements. And she’s always in that conversation.”
Taking advantage of opportunities
Caesars is the official sportsbook of the Washington Wizards and Capitals. It brought those sponsorships with it to Long Shot’s. Caesar’s also has a retail sportsbook at Capital One Arena in Washington, DC.
“What’s really interesting is that Caesars already had a deal,” Ifrah said. “They already had a casino, so getting them to recognise your value and getting them to do a deal with you when they’re not even shopping for a deal and, given that they’re Caesars, I mean, that’s huge.
“You’re basically talking to someone who’s not buying, who’s already got something in the market and you’re convincing them about your location, your acumen, your assets, your experience. And that resonated with them, which is why the deal happened.”
That ability to make things happen, to believe in herself, has helped Cohen succeed in a field with few women. Her advice for other women interested in following in her footsteps in the industry or even taking on a “traditionally male” role?
“I always say to anyone, find a great mentor,” she said. “It doesn’t have to necessarily be a woman. I think there’s a lot of emphasis on finding someone who looks like you, who is in the space, who has done it before. Don’t find that person that looks like you, necessarily. I think you just take the opportunity or the person in front of you and don’t be afraid to start from the bottom. You have to start somewhere.”
Kathy Urban is a longtime sports journalist with a passion for story telling.
