Joey Chestnut Chases 18th Mustard Belt as Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest Returns to Coney Island

Joey Chestnut returns to the corner of Surf and Stillwell avenues in Coney Island on Saturday looking to add an 18th Mustard Belt to his collection, headlining the 2026 Nathan’s Famous Fourth of July International Hot Dog Eating Contest. The men’s competition begins at 12:30 p.m. ET, with the women’s championship, featuring five-time reigning champion Miki Sudo, kicking off at 11 a.m. ET.

Chestnut enters as the defending champion after downing 70.5 hot dogs and buns in 10 minutes last July, a total that secured his 17th career title following a one-year absence from the event in 2024 due to a sponsorship conflict with a plant-based hot dog brand. He still holds the official Nathan’s contest record of 76 hot dogs and buns, set in 2021, and separately ate 83 in an exhibition match against Takeru Kobayashi that aired on Netflix over Labor Day weekend. Patrick Bertoletti, who won the 2024 title with 58 hot dogs and buns during Chestnut’s absence, finished as runner-up last year with 46.5 and returns again this year in Chestnut’s shadow.

Sudo Chasing Fifth Straight Title

On the women’s side, Miki Sudo is aiming for her 12th overall title and fifth consecutive Mustard Belt after eating 33 hot dogs and buns to win in 2025. Sudo holds the women’s world record of 51 hot dogs and buns, set in 2024, and remains the dominant figure in the women’s field heading into Saturday’s contest. Contestants in this year’s event hail from 18 states and several countries, according to Nathan’s Famous.

This year’s contest also marks the first Fourth of July event since Nathan’s Famous was sold to Smithfield Foods in an all-cash $450 million deal in January, adding a new layer of corporate backdrop to the century-old Coney Island tradition that began as a nickel hot dog stand.

Broadcast and Betting Interest

ESPN will broadcast the contest for the 23rd consecutive year. Women’s competition coverage begins at 10:45 a.m. ET on ESPN3 and the ESPN App, with the men’s competition following at noon ET on ESPN2 and simulcast on ABC starting at 12:30 p.m. ET as part of the network’s Disney Celebrates America programming. The men’s contest will re-air on ESPN2 at 4 p.m. ET. Both Chestnut and Sudo will have dedicated isolation cameras streaming throughout their respective competitions for fans with ESPN Unlimited access.

The event has become one of the more unusual but heavily bet-on holiday sports spectacles in the United States, with prop markets typically built around Chestnut’s total hot dog count, whether he breaks his own contest record, and head-to-head matchups against the rest of the men’s field. Sportsbooks like DraftKings promo code and FanDuel promo code offers have leaned into the holiday with novelty markets in past years, while bettors weighing the numbers can run the totals through an odds and probability calculator before backing a side.

What to Watch For

Chestnut has not eclipsed 70 hot dogs and buns in a sanctioned Nathan’s contest since his record-setting 2021 performance, and last year’s total of 70.5 snapped a stretch of more modest outputs during his layoff-adjacent seasons. A strong showing Saturday would further cement his case as the greatest competitive eater in the sport’s history, while a letdown could open the door for Bertoletti or another challenger to close the gap. On the women’s side, Sudo’s continued dominance leaves little drama at the top, though the battle for second place remains competitive year to year.

Pre-show festivities at the Coney Island venue begin at 9:50 a.m. ET with live musical and variety performances before the women’s and men’s championships get underway. Fans looking to bet elsewhere on the holiday slate can also check the latest BetMGM promo code offer as MLB action continues across the country.