For those who have never watched the Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest before, here’s a quick rundown of how things work.
Competitors have 10 minutes to eat as many hot dogs with buns as they can. The competitor who eats the most hot dogs (and buns!) will be declared the winner—yes, partial hot dogs will count, measured in eighths of a length.
If two or more competitors are tied when time expires, a five-dog eat-off will serve as a tiebreaker.
Chestnut is the defending champion in the men’s division and also owns the men’s record of 76 hot dogs eaten, which he set in 2021. Sudo is the defending women’s champion and owns the women’s record (51 hot dogs, 2024).
To win last year, Chestnut and Sudo ate 70.5 and 33 hot dogs, respectively. While that sounds like more than enough to give eaters the meat sweats, competitors had better prepare for some actual sweating on Saturday. According to Weather.com, temperatures are expected to reach 90 degrees by 10 a.m., nearly an hour before the women take the stage.
The reigning camps appear undaunted.
“It’s hot, but I’m bringing the heat,” Sudo said on Friday, per Alex Herrera of CBS Sports.
Unsurprisingly, Chestnut and Sudo are heavy favorites to win their divisions at FanDuel Sportsbook at -2500 (bet $2,500 to win $100) and -1500, respectively. Fans probably shouldn’t expect an upset on Saturday, but it’ll be interesting to see if challengers like Patrick Bertoletti, James Webb, Domenica Dee, and Michelle Lesco can come close.
