If nothing else, horse racing participants are tough. Everything that comes along with the grooming, training, steering and riding of racehorses demands toughness. That being said, a few items have found their way into the trade news as of late, and they will surely give even the toughest horseperson a bit of a chill.

Imagine crawling into the sulky without a care in the world just to find yourself in the hospital over the course of the next couple of days. Situations such as that are usually due to some sort of a racing or training accident. Although, as some say, life is all about the ‘little things.’

Well, it was one of those little things that recently forced Down Under driver Lauren Tritton in and out of the hospital for a few days. The culprit, you ask? Well, it may come across as small potatoes, but it was none other than a redback spider – a venomous ‘widow spider’ that is notorious for being a tough customer. Bites from redbacks can lead to severe pain, nausea, vomiting, headaches and general agitation.

The bite in question took place at Tabcorp Park Menangle earlier this month when Tritton was on the track warming up one of her horses. Tritton was unaware of how she came to be in such close proximity to the pesky arachnid. She has determined that the unwelcomed guest probably found its way into her silks. The bite resulted in a pair of trips to the hospital – one after the incident occurred, and another the next day when the effects of the bite worsened.

When it comes to spiders, the unnerving nature of the unseen can be simply terrifying. The flip side to that is seeing a straight-up monster, which equally provides all the shivers, just in a completely different way.

Imagine making your way down the stretch and seeing what you think is a ‘crack’ in the track… but… wait… that’s no crack.

Again, horse racing participants are tough cookies, but seeing a 15-foot python on the raceway may make the boldest racing participant squirm – just a whole lot. Well, that was the case last week, as a giant carpet python was found slithering around on the turf at Cannon Park Racecourse in Cairns, Australia.

Now that’s something to come across at 5:30 a.m.

The rider in question, Masayuki Abe, was navigating his mount through a turn when he saw what he thought was a “big crack in the ground.”

"I didn't think it was a snake because I've just never seen that big one before," said Abe, who later delivered the understatement of the year in “I was so scared after that."

What’s even worse is that the python in question really had no intention of getting out of everyone’s nightmares, as it decided to hang out on the track for the better part of four hours before it made its way into the bushes.

Cairns Jockey Club General Manager John Cameron has discussed the situation, and, as hard as it may be to imagine, his comments may have just made people even more unnerved.

“It’s funny, we’ve cancelled meets because of locusts, dogs on the track and even a sheep on the track, but never for a snake before," Cameron was quoted as saying. "“They’re a bit scary for the horses, so we made sure to take the horses away from the area."

The kicker came in the GM’s comment that the 15-foot snake is not the smallest that he has seen. “It’s the smallest of the family,” said Cameron.

(With files from FOX News and punters.com.au)