Trainer Herbertson Arrested for Sexual Assault

Northern California trainer Ari Herbertson was arrested this week on charges of sexual assault, according to records from the Berkeley Police Department.

In a news release distributed by Berkeley Police public information officer Byron White Feb. 13, Herbertson was arrested Feb. 11 at Golden Gate Fields. He is accused of "committing an act of sexual penetration of an unconscious victim, attempted rape, and sexual battery" in January 2019 after that person left the track, police records state.

The release said police made the arrest after receiving a DNA match for Herbertson and detectives submitting the case to the district attorney's office for review.

Online court records indicated Herbertson was to be arraigned the morning of Feb. 14.

Herbertson, 28, of El Sobrante, Calif., has won 113 races from 382 starters in a training career that began in 2016. Without any California Horse Racing Board rulings or a track-imposed exclusion against him, his horses raced as recently as Friday at Golden Gate, winning three races from four starts.

He has a horse entered Feb. 15 and another Feb. 16 at the track.

"CHRB investigators are looking into the matter to see if any regulatory action can be taken against this licensee at this time," CHRB spokesman Mike Marten wrote in an email Friday.

In an interview with America's Best Racing in 2017, Herbertson said he grew interested in horse racing after attending the races with his father, Scott, a horse owner. Although he has competed mostly in Northern California, his horses have occasionally shipped to Southern California, including Noble Nick, who ran fourth in the Marathon Stakes Presented by TAA (G2) on the Breeders' Cup undercard at Del Mar in November 2017.