The annual Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest on the Fourth of July is an amusing spectacle on a day of national pride, fireworks and patriotic celebration.
The event was created and has remained in Coney Island, New York, and sees competitors scarf down enough hot dogs to feed a family for weeks. And while you may lose your appetite (or feel appalled at the gluttony) watching the event, the men and women on the stage certainly won’t.
So whether you’re going to be in the area and want to go check it out for yourself or are just an observer from afar, here’s what you need to know about Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest, which kicks off at 11 a.m. ET on July 4, 2024.
Joey Chestnut Update
Unfortunately for fans of the event, 16-time champion Joey Chestnut will not be participating in the 2024 Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest. Chestnut was banned from the event due to his partnership with Impossible Foods, a rival company that makes plant-based hot dogs.
Instead, Chestnut will have a hot dog eating contest against soldiers at Fort Bliss in El Paso, Texas, on the Fourth of July. He is scheduled to face former champion and rival Takeru Kobayashi in a live Netflix special on Labor Day.
With Chestnut out, the coveted Mustard Belt is up for grabs. He had won the previous eight competitions and would have been the prohibitive betting favorite with large minus odds if he had been allowed to participate. Now there will be a new champion for the first time since 2015.
Hot Dog Eating Contest Odds
Odds for the 2024 Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest are available at the best online sportsbooks.
Below are the betting markets at DraftKings Sportsbook. Odds are subject to change.
Men’s Outright Winner
- Geoffrey Esper: -105
- James Webb: +145
- Nick Wehry: +650
- Patrick Bertoletti: +1000
- Any participant not listed: +2500
- Gideon Oji: +4000
- Derek Hendrickson: +7500
- Darrien Thomas: +7500
- Max Stanford: +7500
- George Chiger: +7500
Women’s Outright Winner
- Miki Sudo: -1200
- Mayoi Ebihara: +600
- Michelle Lesco: +2200
- Any participant not listed: +5000
- Katie Prettyman: +5000
- Larell Marie Mele: +10000
Geoffrey Esper Total Hot Dogs Eaten
- Over/Under 49.5 (-130/+100)
Miki Sudo Total Hot Dogs Eaten
- Over/Under 40.5 (-155/+125)
Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest Rules
The rules are simple: Get as many hot dogs down as possible in the 10-minute time limit. And keep them down, because vomiting is an automatic disqualification.
Many competitors dip their dogs in water to soften the bread. That strategy is a proven winner, though contestants can only soak their dogs for a maximum of five seconds.
Don’t expect to see the grace and elegance you would find at a Cotillion class. Contestants are not permitted to use utensils during the race to eat as many wieners as they can, although they likely wouldn’t anyway since it would only slow them down.
However, competitors must eat the hot dogs in a certain order and may not move on to a new plate until the previous one is wiped clean.
Don’t worry about the age-old “mustard or ketchup?” debate, either. Condiments can’t be layered on the dogs. Beer (or any other alcoholic beverage) also can’t be used to wash down the Independence Day meal.
Any ties are settled by an eat-off consisting of five hot dogs, and the winner is the contestant who gets the five down as quickly as possible. If there is another tie, there are one-hot dog sudden-death rounds until a winner is crowned.
Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest Record
The record for most hot dogs eaten in the 10-minute window is 76 hot dogs and buns set by former champion Joey Chestnut in 2021. Chestnut also won the 2022 and 2023 events to claim his 15th and 16th Mustard Yellow Belt (the winner’s symbol of victory), cementing his legacy as the greatest competitive eater ever.
Roughly 20 contestants compete yearly in the men’s and women’s divisions, including any past champion, winners of regional qualifying contests, wild cards and special invitees.
The time limit has been 10 minutes since 2008. It has been as long as 12 minutes and as short as three and a half. It appears the contest found the sweet spot with 10.
Miki Sudo holds the record for women with 48.5 hot dogs and buns in 10 minutes, which she set in 2020. She won her ninth title in 2023 with a total of 39.5.
Chestnut Ends Takeru Kobayashi’s Reign
Despite the rise of these recent champions, Takeru Kobayashi is still considered one of the event’s all-time legends.
He set a then-world record of 50 dogs and buns in 12 minutes in 2001 as a rookie and redefined what the world of competitive eating thought was possible. He went on to win six straight Fourth of July events before being dethroned by Chestnut.
In 2010, Kobayashi announced that he would not participate in the Independence Day event because of Nathan’s insistence on him signing an exclusive contract.
He stood in the crowd wearing a t-shirt that said “Free Kobi.” After the contest ended and the crowd began chanting his name, he charged past the police barricade and took the stage.
One security guard was empathetic, but another ran over to get him off the stage. Kobayashi resisted and was eventually slammed against a nearby fence, put in handcuffs and thrown into a police car.
Kobayashi’s name and picture were removed from Nathan’s Wall of Fame in 2011. He has not competed in the Fourth of July event since 2009.
Hot Dog Contest Returns To Coney Island
Fans were welcomed back to the contest’s classic Long Island location in 2022 after they were forced away because of the Covid-19 pandemic.
“The Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest is a fundamental aspect of the American experience, and we are thrilled to be back at our Flagship,” Phil McCann, Vice President of Marketing of Nathan’s, said in a statement. “After two years of anticipation, we look forward to welcoming back our traditional crowd of 35,000 spectators.”
The event is held on Coney Island because that is the location of the first Nathan’s, opened by Nathan Handwerker in 1916. There is a popular rumor that there has been a contest on the island every year since the restaurant first opened. However, promoter Mortimer “Morty” Matz—the man who created the story—admitted that it was false and used for marketing.
The contest has been held in most years since 1972.
How To Bet On Hot Dog Eating Contest
Betting on the hot dog eating contest is allowed in many sports betting states, many of which have made it legal for licensed sportsbooks to accept wagers on the event.
It’s worth noting that you can’t bet on the contest in New York where the event is held, as the state doesn’t allow gambling on “non-sporting events.”
It’s safe to say professional eaters would argue that the contest is a sport.
Wagers come in different forms. Bettors can pick which contestant in the field will be the one to walk away with the Mustard Belt, how many hot dogs will be eaten and if there will be a record amount of dogs and buns eaten.
The first women’s contest was held in 2011. There have been three champions since, and Sudo has won every year bar one since 2014.
The Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest is one of America’s favorite nationally televised holiday sporting events. Tune into ESPN to catch the event and feel free to play along at home. But remember, no condiments are allowed and regurgitation means disqualification.
Photo by Doug Benc/Getty Images
