Resolution Criteria

The 2026 Nathan's Famous Fourth of July International Hot Dog Eating Contest will take place on Friday, July 4, 2026, from 11am to 1pm at 1310 Surf Avenue in Coney Island, New York. This market resolves YES if Joey Chestnut does not win the men's competition. It resolves NO if he wins. The contestant who consumes (and keeps down) the most hot dogs and buns in ten minutes is declared the winner. Results will be verified via ESPN's broadcast or Major League Eating's official announcement at https://majorleagueeating.com/contests/1038/

Background

Joey Chestnut is a 17-time champion of the Nathan's annual Hot Dog Eating Contest. He returned after a one-year ban from the competition to claim the Mustard Belt in 2025 by eating 70.5 hot dogs and buns in 10 minutes. That total bested defending champion Patrick Bertoletti, who finished in second place with 46.5, but came short of the competition-record 76 hot dogs and buns Chestnut ate in 2021. Chestnut will be back at Coney Island in 2026 for another shot at breaking his own record.

Considerations

Since Chestnut won his first Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest victory as a 23-year-old in 2007, the event has only crowned two other winners: Matt Stonie, who beat Chestnut in 2015, and Bertoletti, who won while Chestnut was banned for a sponsorship conflict in 2024. Chestnut will turn 42 in November, which may be a factor in his competitive performance.