Eskendereya, the anticipated favorite for the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands, will not run in the May 1 classic due to a slight swelling in his left front leg.

Trainer Todd Pletcher made the announcement about Zayat Stables' 3-year-old son of Giant's Causeway at a press conference at 9:30 Sunday morning.

"Yesterday morning I noticed a little bit of filling in his left front leg," Pletcher said. "We looked at and worked on it overnight but didn't see any improvement. He's too special of a horse to take any chances.

"Basically his left leg is filled from his ankle up to the knee," he said. "When need to get some of that edema out of there before we can do any diagnostics. He's not uncomfortable. I got him out early this morning on the asphalt and jogged him and for me, he was slightly off