Horse named after Pats' Gronkowski out of Kentucky Derby due to illness

gronkowski-horse-03082018-us-news-getty-ftr — Rob Gronkowski (left)

Gronkowski is in trouble, but not the New England Patriots star.

The horse named Gronkowski – after Patriots tight end Rob – will not be running in the Kentucky Derby next month.

The colt, which is based in England, had been scheduled to fly to Kentucky this weekend but will not make the trip due to a fever that spiked over the weekend, his owners announced on Monday.

Last week, NFL veteran Gronkowski announced he had purchased a minority stake in the three-year-old thoroughbred, winner of his last four races.

We very much regret that #Gronkowski will miss the @KentuckyDerby after spiking a fever over the weekend and being treated with antibiotics. He can't make the long journey to Louisville but is doing well pic.twitter.com/71CqtWnDub
— Phoenix Thoroughbred (@PhoenixThoroug1) April 23, 2018

The first Triple Crown race will be followed by the Preakness Stakes on May 19, and the Belmont Stakes on June 9.