By Emilee White Editorial Director
Updated 7/3/23 8:36am ET
Can you smell that? It smells like old meat, sauerkraut, and sweat. Nathan’s Famous Fourth of July International Hot Dog Eating Contest is slated to take place on Jul. 4 and nothing screams “‘MERICA” (cue shrieking eagle sound) like watching a bunch of people shovel pounds of processed meat and bread down their gullets.
Joey Chestnut enters the 2023 contest as the men’s favorite at -4000 odds, which should be no surprise as he’s won this event 15 times over the last 16 years. Chestnut is, of course, the reigning champion, but his biggest win came in the year before 2023 when he set the world record after eating 76 hot dogs in 10 minutes. FYI, eating a normal amount of hot dogs is cool, too. Chestnut’s only loss came in 2015 and it doesn’t appear he plans on adding another any time soon.
Sitting at a not-so-close second place in the men’s division is competitor Geoffrey Esper, whose odds of winning are currently +1000 with an over/under of 38.5. Compared to Chestnut’s over/under of 72.5, seems like a done deal for the Weiner-Eating King, but anything could happen in the Major League Eating world.
I know what you’re thinking. Yes, there is an official body for professional eaters and the MLE has been overseeing the competition since 1997. Nathan’s Famous International Hot Dog Eating Contest however has been going on for much longer, with the inaugural contest taking place on July 4, 1972 at Coney Island in Brooklyn, NY.
On the women’s side, undefeated Miki Sudo enters the hot dog ring with an 8-0 record and is the current favorite to win at -5000 odds. Like Chestnut, Sudo’s competition field is scarce as well. Michelle Lesco’s odds are set at +2200 with an over/under of 29.5. Sudo’s over/under of 43.5 pretty much seals the deal on who will be crowned champ.
To add the famous hot dog eating contest to your entertainment for the fourth of July, you can stream the multiple events occurring throughout the day on the ESPN app. The women’s event will kick off at 10:45 a.m. ET followed by the men’s event at noon. You can also watch the men’s competition exclusively on ESPN2.
Photo credit: Shutterstock
