Babe Ruth trained here nine times and became a very familiar face around Hot Springs. He hiked the mountains, took the baths, played golf, patronized the casinos, and visited the racetrack. On March 17, 1918, St. Patrick's Day, he launched a mammoth home run from Whittington Park on the fly inside the Alligator Farm. It has been measured at 573 feet, baseball's first 500-foot-plus drive.