Joey Chestnut favored to win 8th straight Mustard Belt.
Joey Chestnut, the hot dog-and-bun-eating GOAT, is the overwhelming favorite to win his 16th Mustard Belt overall and eighth in row Tuesday at the Nathan's Hot Dog Contest in Coney Island, Brooklyn.Caesars Sportsbook on Monday had Chestnut listed as a -3,000 odds-on favorite to down the most hot dogs and buns during the messiest 10 minutes in sports. Every other contestant is listed at +1,400 (14-1) or longer. The over/under on the number of hot dogs and buns eaten by Chestnut is 72.5 at some sportsbooks.
Chestnut is such a big favorite at a few sportsbooks that bettors must risk $4,000 on him to win a net $100. On Monday, DraftKings reported taking a $2,000 bet on Chestnut that would win a net $50 if he is victorious again. An upset, however, would cost the bettor the two grand.
Despite the short odds, Chestnut has attracted by far the most bets to win the contest, according to Caesars Sportsbook oddsmaker Joey Feazel, who called Chestnut "the Tom Brady of hot dog-eating."
The women's division is top-heavy, too, with defending champion Miki Sudo listed as an even bigger favorite than Chestnut. Sudo, who has won eight of the past 12 women's hot dog contests, is listed as the -5,000 favorite.
The contest, annually held on the Fourth of July, has had a cult following in the sports betting community for years, but it has only been offered by American sportsbooks in some states recently. Arizona, Colorado, Indiana, Louisiana, Michigan and New Jersey are among the states that allow betting on the contest. However, New York, where the contest is held, allows sportsbooks to offer betting only on "sporting events."
While most of the bets on the contest are small, FanDuel reported taking a $2,240 bet on Chestnut to eat over 71.5 hot dogs.
The women's contest will be broadcast at 10:30 a.m. ET on Tuesday on ESPN3, followed by the men's contest at 12 p.m. ET on ESPN2.
Joey Chestnut by the numbers
The 10 highest totals in the event belong to Chestnut, and his 76 hot dogs eaten in 2021 is the record. Chestnut has eaten more than 70 dogs and buns six times. But he doesn't just devour hot dogs: He has the Major League Eating record in 54 different categories, including chicken wings (182 in 30 minutes), hard-boiled eggs (141 in 8 minutes), grilled cheese sandwiches (47 in 10 minutes) and Twinkies (121 in 6 minutes).1,152: Since 2005, Chestnut has eaten 1,152 hot dogs and buns in the event.
682.5: Despite not participating in every event since 2005, Chestnut's total of 1,152 dogs is 682.5 more than any other eater.
7,776/648: The competition dogs from Nathan's are 6.75 inches long. The total length of hot dogs eaten by Chestnut equates to 7,776 inches, or 648 feet.
648 feet by comparison:
- Distance to dead center at Citi Field and Yankee Stadium: 408 feet.
- Distance of Aaron Judge's longest home run: 496 feet.
- Height of the Statue of Liberty: 305 feet.
In 2022, Chestnut ate 63 hot dogs and buns. Each amounts to 290 calories, meaning Chestnut consumed 18,270 calories in 10 minutes. In his competing career, he has eaten nearly 335,000 calories in hot dogs alone.
18,270 calories, by comparison:
- Daily calories eaten by Michael Phelps in training for the 2008 Olympics: 10,000, according to Olympics.com.
- Calories burned daily by polar bears: 12,234, according to Science magazine.
2023 Notable Entrants
| EATER | RANKING | CAREER BEST |
|---|---|---|
| Joey Chestnut | 1st | 76 |
| Geoffrey Esper | 2nd | 51 |
| Nick Wehry | 4th | 44 |
| James Webb | 10th | 41.5 |
| Bartley Weaver IV | 16th | 40 |
| Gideon Oji | 7th | 38 |
| Adrian Morgan | 14th | 38 |
| Darrien Thomas | 25th | 34.5 |
| Derek Hendrickson | 21st | 32.5 |
| Adam Morgan | 15th | 32 |
| Ricardo Corbucci | 12th | N/A |
Chestnut vs. other GOATs
Competitive eating is typically an individual sport, with just one person against the competition.Chestnut has won the Nathan's Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest 15 of the past 16 years, and seven years consecutively. Chestnut is ruling his sport in an era where he compares pretty favorably to champions in other individual sports:
Rafael Nadal: In 18 years, from 2005 to '22, he won 14 French Open titles.
Kelly Slater: He had 11 World Surf League crowns from 1994 to 2011.
Martina Navratilova: From 1978 to 1990, she won nine Wimbledon singles titles, including six in a row from 1982 to '87.
Tiger Woods: Won at least one major championship in every year except two (2003, 2004) from 1997 to 2008. That included the "Tiger Slam" from 2000 to '01 where he held all four major titles at one time.
In team sports, the championship leaders in the four majors are: Bill Russell (NBA) and Henri Richard (NHL), with 11, Yogi Berra (MLB) with 10 and Tom Brady (NFL) with seven.
Miki Sudo: Dominating the world of women's competitive eating
Miki Sudo is the world-record holder in hot dogs eaten among women -- setting the mark in the 2020 event, with 48.5 -- and has won eight of the 12 women's competitions held since 2011 (previously the event was coed).Sudo missed the 2021 event -- won by Michelle Lesco -- while pregnant with her son Max, but she returned in 2022, chowing down 40 dogs to win the contest by a margin of 16.
But it's not just hot dogs for Sudo: She also holds four other competitive eating records:
- Ice cream, short form: 16.5 pints of vanilla ice cream in six minutes (2017)
- Kimchi: 8.5 pounds in six minutes (2013)
- Wild rice hotdish: 14 pounds in eight minutes (2019)
- Corn dogs: 21 5.6-ounce corn dogs in eight minutes (2022)
wow guys, this thread blew up big time appreciate the comments. Well no surprise with Chestnut taking home another victory but only 62 dogs. Seems like he might be losing a bit of fitness. Sudo did ok but I think they had a serious miscount during the contest that only got resolved after. They had her and the other girl both at like 39 but then come to find out the other girl only had like 33. Really bad for everyone how they messed that up. I wish matt stonie would come back and "compete" but I guess he's too big now to bother with such tiny things. He could have probably vied for the win this year. And what about Furious Pete? Why can't they get him there. Pay him an appearance fee if you have to but do it.
