Melbourne Cup winning jockey Corey Brown has accused animal welfare group the RSPCA, of using his ride on Shocking to drum up publicity.

Brown was fined $500 for unnecessary use of the whip when he passed the post in Tuesday's Melbourne Cup. Under new rules, jockeys can strike a horse only five times up to the 100m, and from there the whip is to be used at the rider's discretion.

''For a leading jockey's natural instinct to be to give his horse a final whip in celebration as it passes the post really sums up the inherent problems with the culture of whip use in Australian racing,'' RSPCA chief Heather Neil told The Sydney Morning Herald on Thursday. ''It's a bizarre way to reward a horse that's just won you a lot of money.''

Brown argued at his hearing with Victoria Racing Club stewards that his striking of Shocking was "not deliberate" and described his action as a "flick".

''It's insulting to me personally that this story got any legs in the media,'' Brown said in a statement. ''The RSPCA really needs to take a good look at itself if this is the level of argument it going to run with.

''To be the key organisation representing the animal welfare in Australia and then to seek publicity based on rubbish … to me it means the wider community should really question the RSPCA's credibility.''