NEW YORK – Nathan’s Famous hot dog eating contest will bring its signature spectacle to Coney Island on Saturday, adding a dose of competitive eating pageantry to celebrations marking the United States’ 250th birthday after a turbulent year for the event and one of its biggest names.
Nathan’s Famous, the contest’s longtime sponsor, was acquired in January by packaged meat giant Smithfield Foods. Then, months later, defending men’s champion and record holder Joey Chestnut was accused of slapping a man at an Indiana bar. In April, he pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor battery charge.
Despite the offstage developments, the annual frankfurter showdown is moving ahead, with Chestnut and Miki Sudo expected to return to defend their 2025 titles in the men’s and women’s divisions.
The rules are simple but stomach-testing: contestants have 10 minutes to eat as many hot dogs and buns as they can, often dipping the food in water first to help it go down faster.
Sudo has dominated the women’s field, winning the contest 11 times and setting the women’s record at 51 hot dogs.
Chestnut, a 17-time winner of the coveted Mustard Belt, owns the men’s record with 76 hot dogs and buns. He remains on probation in the battery case but is permitted to travel outside Indiana. His attorney has described the bar incident as a misunderstanding and said Chestnut took responsibility for his conduct.
Major League Eating, the organization that oversees the Nathan’s Famous contest, said the criminal case did not affect Chestnut’s eligibility to compete.
The contest, first held in 1972, takes place outside the original Nathan’s Famous restaurant in New York’s Coney Island.
