Just imagine following up Christmas Day with a $70,000 winning wager at your local raceway.

With a carryover of just over $10,000 and more than $80,000 in 'new money' put through the betting windows, Wednesday night’s 50-cent Pick-5 wager at Balmoral Park gave gamblers a great chance to share in the holiday cheer --- and it did just that for one lucky gambler who toted home a Balmoral Park record payoff of $70,192.20 as the lone winner of the wager.

Things started as expected when 8-5 second choice Kitty O’Brien (driven by Pat Curtin) captured the first leg of the Pick-5, which entails races two through six each night. The tote board lit up like a Christmas tree in leg two, though, as 32-1 outsider Flirtin With Danger (Lamar Wingard) pulled off a shocking upset from Post 10.

The 32-1 longshot winner was followed up by another upset, as Brilliant Chief (Casey Leonard) parlayed a perfect two-hole trip into a victory at 19-1 in the third leg of the wager.

Chalk players were rewarded in the fourth leg of the bet, as 6-5 favourite Full Steam Ahead (Kyle Wilfong) made every call a winning one. The last leg of the wager saw Fox Valley Arrow (Casey Leonard) turn a ground-saving journey into a victory at odds of 9-2.

The winning numbers of 2-10-1- (5-9)-1 resulted in a final payout of $70,192.20, easily eclipsing the previous record of $44,675.10 which had been set in February of 2012. There was no word as of release time as to where the winning ticket was purchased.

Spurred on by the big Pick-5 pool and a craving for harness action after a two-day hiatus, horseplayers wagered $1,197,484 on the special 12-race program on Wednesday night at Balmoral. Wednesday’s Pick 4 at Balmoral Park also brought a handsome return as the $1 wager returned a hefty $24,977.30 on the combination of 1-3-7-2.

(Balmoral)