Joey Chestnut will be aiming for an unprecedented 10th title and another record-setting performance when he pulls up to the table Wednesday for this year’s Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest as a heavy -550 favorite at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com.
Chestnut gorged his way to a new world record at last year’s event, consuming 72 hot dogs and buns in 10 minutes, and will be gunning for a third straight title when the Fourth of July tradition is rekindled at the 2018 Nathan’s Famous International Hot Dog Eating Contest in Coney Island, N.Y.
Chestnut outdistances the field, which is pegged as a +325 underdog to produce a competitive eater that can take down the 34-year-old at this year’s event. But despite how Chestnut finishes Wednesday’s competition, his record is expected to remain intact, with heavy -220 odds favoring the winner to consume UNDER 72.5 hot dogs and buns.
A world record holder in nine other competitive eating categories, including shrimp cocktail, deep fried asparagus and matzah balls, Chestnut likely is to face his stiffest competition from Matt Stonie, who sits as a +350 underdog in head-to-head betting on the hot dog contest odds against the reigning champion.
Stonie has beaten Chestnut before at this event, eating his way to victory in 2015 by consuming 62 hot dogs and buns, ending Chestnut’s eight-year championship run at the tournament. The 26-year-old also has set an array of competitive eating world records, including 25 Big Macs in five minutes, and a hefty 22 pounds of poutine in 10 minutes at a competition in Toronto three years ago.
However, Stonie is expected to struggle to keep pace with Chestnut early in the competition, with -150 odds favoring him to consume OVER 36.5 hot dogs and buns in the first five minutes of this year’s contest, while Chestnut is a solid -180 wager to eat OVER 46 hot dogs and buns by the halfway mark of Wednesday’s chowdown.
Over on the ladies side of the competition, former three-time champion Sonya “The Black Widow” Thomas will take on four-time defending champion Miki Sudo. Thomas, who won this event three years in a row from 2011 to 2013, is a +300 underdog to knock off Sudo in head-to-head wagering. The 50-year-old has set 19 world records, and still holds the women’s record at this event, set in 2012, when she consumed 45 hot dogs and buns.
However, Sudo displayed her prowess by eating 41 hot dogs and buns last year, and remains a heavy -550 favorite against the field to successfully defend her title Wednesday afternoon.
