HOT SPRINGS — It's debatable whether life is a gamble. But more gambling than ever will be going on at Oaklawn when the Hot Springs track's 2020 racing season starts Friday.
Visitors to this annual festive occasion will discover that the venerable venue, where racing first took place in 1904, has a new name. It's no longer merely Oaklawn Park but now calls itself Oaklawn Racing Casino Resort. The expanding premises feature table games as well as slot machines, offering wider opportunities to win or lose before or after (or even between) the races.
General admission to Oaklawn remains free of charge. And there are still plenty of other free attractions in Hot Springs for folks who'd rather risk their money on guaranteed returns like food and drink rather than the vagaries of Thoroughbreds or blackjack.
With that in mind, here is a sampler of no-cost allures in Hot Springs that can ease the pain of any parimutuel or casino losses:
• Fordyce Bathhouse. The Spa City's golden age as a health resort in the first half of the 20th century is evoked in one of the seven surviving Central Avenue bathhouses, this one serving as Hot Springs National Park Visitor Center and Museum. The 23 restored rooms give a sense of the upper-class comforts as well as the regimens, some of them quite rigorous.
• Free Mineral Water. On the corner of Central Avenue and Reserve Street at the south end of Bathhouse Row, spigots offer visitors the chance to take home as much free Hot Springs mineral water as they wish — as long as they bring their own bottles or jugs.
• Mountain Valley Spring Co. Visitor Center and Museum. Only small samples of Ouachita Mountains water, tapped since 1871, are available free of charge in this stately Central Avenue building. Larger amounts can be bought. On view are displays of the firm's bottles dating to 1884.
• The Winery of Hot Springs. For free samples of beverages stronger than water, this shop at 1503 Central Ave. offers no-charge tastings of nine Arkansas wines, none made on the premises. The building also houses a wine-history exhibit from the museum at Cowry Winery in Logan County.
• Historic Baseball Trail. Playing off the fact that Hot Springs hosted baseball spring training from 1886 through the 1920s, 28 plaques celebrating those halcyon times are scattered around the city. They celebrate Dizzy and Daffy Dean, Babe Ruth, Honus Wagner, Cy Young and other stars of old.
• A Dozen Murals. Fairly new to the Spa City's art scene are a dozen murals painted on walls along Central Avenue and elsewhere. Pepe Gaka is the artist involved in half of them, including two beauties across from Bathhouse Row. One depicts two Quapaw warriors, while the other features floral displays and a pair of maidens.
• National Park Hikes. A number of trails are marked out on a map at the Fordyce Bathhouse visitor center. Most make for vigorous hiking on a crisp winter day. But a majority are uphill from their downtown starting points, making for a less heart-pounding return.
• Hot Springs Mountain. Hairpin turns add excitement to the drive up Hot Springs Mountain (aka North Mountain), with several pull-offs for admiring the panorama. At the top is a paid attraction, 216-foot-high Hot Springs Tower, but the drive is amply scenic without shelling out to ascend in the tower's elevator.
• Bill Clinton Boyhood Home. This is merely a drive-by freebie because the home at 1011 Park Ave. where the future 42nd president lived from ages 8 to 15 is a private residence. It's one of 15 Clinton-related stops, some of them rather tangential, on a visitor-center leaflet.
• Corned-beef Sandwiches (well, nearly free). Meanwhile, back at the track, an Oaklawn tradition continues Saturday on the second day of racing. The tasty corned-beef sandwiches cost only 50 cents, while soft drinks are just a dime.
For information on Hot Springs' free (and paid) attractions, visit hotsprings.org or stop by the visitor center at 629 Central Ave. For information on Oaklawn Racing Casino Resort, visit oaklawn.com.
Style on 01/21/2020