The beauty and pageantry of horse racing can turn into chaos and tragedy in the blink of an eye; a jockey plummets to the racetrack, trying to avoid the crushing weight of his falling mount and often rolling amidst a hellish pounding of hooves.

Medics arrive in the ambulance to assess the severity of injuries and provide immediate care. The lucky riders get treatment in the first aid room and walk out of the jockeys room and take some prescribed time off.

Then there are the less fortunate riders who are rushed to a hospital for more extensive care or even surgery.

The doctors and medical staff do their best, while family and friends arrive for support. The racetrack chaplain visits, as the riders hospital stay stretches from days to weeks.

Well-wishers call, offer prayers, and send a flurry of flowers and cards. If luck stays at a rider’s side, even a serious injury will lead to recuperation, rehabilitation, and an eventual return to the jocks’ room to compete again.

But not all riders are so blessed, and those few seconds of chaos have changed their lives forever. They face paralysis and/or debilitating brain injury that can mean complicated surgeries and prolonged recovery.

Specialized treatments. Specialized care centers. New ways of living have to be adopted and accepted by the rider, the family, and their friends. The jockey may get better, but there may be no cure.

Every day jockeys put their lives on the line for the sport we all love. Without them, horse racing could not exist. They give us their courage and commitment; in return, the racing industry must catch them when they fall. That is why the Permanently Disabled Jockeys Fund exists.

And now there’s a tasty way you can help: saratogacoolbeans.com is an online coffee store which, with every bag of coffee sold, will make a donation to the PDJF.

The website features four traditional coffees as well as five different flavors. Each of the coffees is named in honor of race track traditions.

So please checkout the website, buy some delicious coffee and support the PDJF when their hard work in rehabilitation begins in earnest. The PDJF is a constant source of support and hope for jockeys who have suffered catastrophic on-track accidents.