Who are the favorites to win the Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest without Joey Chestnut?

July 4th is right around the corner and that means Coney Island is preparing for another edition of competitive eating’s most glutinous and glamorous event. The Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest has been synonymous with Independence Day for over a century, but this year’s edition will not feature it’s brightest star.

A tradition like no other

He is the Hank Aaron of hot dogs, but he will not be featured in this year’s edition of the main event from Coney Island. The world’s best eater, Joey Chestnut, has been a mainstay in contest since 2006 when he debuted on the hallowed grounds at the corner of Surf and Stillwell Avenue.

Since then, he has won 16 mustard belts, more than anyone in the history of the 108 year old competition. He started his reign in 2007, taking down six time champion Takeru Kobayashi and the rest of the field while slamming a then record 66 hot dogs in 10 minutes. Since then the legend of Joey Chestnut has only grown and so has his appetite.

Chestnut would rattle off eight straight wins at the Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest, but he was stunned in 2015 when Matt Stonie ended his streak by chowing down 60 hot dogs and taking the mustard belt away from the world’s most famous eater.

Favorites to take mustard belt

Chestnut didn’t take long to return to the top of the summit in the competitive eating world. The next year, he smashed Stonie and set a new all time record becoming the first person to ever eat 70 hot dogs at the illustrious contest. That started another eight year streak that would see some of the most awe inspiring and stomach turning eating this world has ever seen.

It looks like that streak is coming to an end this year, after Joey Chestnut was banned from the contest after accepting a sponsorship with one of Nathan’s competitor, Impossible Foods. Impossible Foods Inc. is a company out of Redwood City, California that produces plant-based substitutes for meat products, such as hot dogs.

The race for the mustard belt is now wide open with the 16-time champion banished from the competition. Taking his place at the top of DraftKings boards is Geoffrey Esper (+100) with James Webb (no relation to the telescope) dubbed as the second favorite (+185). These are the rest of the odds for the Hot Dog Eating Contest at Coney Island.

Esper is most known for eating 23.75 pounds of strawberry shortcake in eight minutes, and downed 49 hot dogs in last year’s Hot Dog Eating Contest. The 49 hot dogs he ate last year were 13 less than Chestnut ate and just two more than James Webb was able to scarf down.