As thousands of fans crowded into Gulfstream Park Saturday afternoon for a concert and the Florida Derby, a 9-month-old girl was dying alone in a car outside.
The baby's father, Antonio Francisco Balta, 27, was arrested and charged with aggravated manslaughter of a child. He was being held Sunday at the Broward County Jail without bail.
Balta, while not employed by Gulfstream, worked as a groom for Nick Zito, a trainer whose horses race there. Attempts to reach Zito Sunday were unsuccessful.
Hallandale Beach police said the child was left unattended in Balta's car, but they would not describe how the baby was left there, how long the baby was in the vehicle or what Balta was doing at the track.
It was not clear who found the unconscious baby between 5 and 5:30 p.m. Hallandale Beach Fire-Rescue workers tried to revive her and took her to Memorial Regional Hospital in Hollywood, where she was pronounced dead.
The child's mother, Michelle Bashford, 22, was working as a waitress at the track's Royal Palm restaurant when the baby died.
Balta and Bashford, of New York, were seasonal workers.
Story from the Miami Herald
The baby's father, Antonio Francisco Balta, 27, was arrested and charged with aggravated manslaughter of a child. He was being held Sunday at the Broward County Jail without bail.
Balta, while not employed by Gulfstream, worked as a groom for Nick Zito, a trainer whose horses race there. Attempts to reach Zito Sunday were unsuccessful.
Hallandale Beach police said the child was left unattended in Balta's car, but they would not describe how the baby was left there, how long the baby was in the vehicle or what Balta was doing at the track.
It was not clear who found the unconscious baby between 5 and 5:30 p.m. Hallandale Beach Fire-Rescue workers tried to revive her and took her to Memorial Regional Hospital in Hollywood, where she was pronounced dead.
The child's mother, Michelle Bashford, 22, was working as a waitress at the track's Royal Palm restaurant when the baby died.
Balta and Bashford, of New York, were seasonal workers.
Story from the Miami Herald