Mary,
As the movie went, if you hold a good race, at a good venue, they will come....cat racers love to race their boats. A few will race a 'race specific' boat ala the past few Worrells. I'll bet most potential competitors would prefer to race their own boats against similar competition.
The issue of money has created nothing but trouble, certainly it hasn't created any races. It killed the current Worrell and threatens future ones.
In the past, even the rock stars showed up to race...the lure wasn't the money.
If you take the promoters and self-promotors out, the real racers will come and race.
And, as a side note, it appears from the carnage at the Alter Cup, everyone is fortunate that the Worrell wasn't held this year with the Bimare 18. The conditions in Clearwater were not near what awaits off North Carolina.