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Stewards have fined Kerrin McEvoy $50,000 for overuse of the whip on Melbourne Cup runner-up Tiger Moth.

Melbourne Cup jockey Kerrin Mcevoy has been fined $50,000 for breaching racing's whip rules on the runner-up Tiger Moth.

The fine is one of the most significant in Australian racing history, matching the $50,000 penalty given to Greg Hall for improper riding after his win in the 1996 Golden Slipper.

Stewards found McEvoy struck the Irish stayer 13 times before the 100m mark and 21 times overall.

The three-time Melbourne Cup-winning jockey pleaded guilty and he will also serve a 13-meeting suspension for the breach.

Under Australian racing rules, jockeys are not allowed to strike their mounts more than five times before reaching the 100m mark.

McEvoy was aiming for a record-equalling fourth win in the Melbourne Cup and he gave Tiger Moth every chance under a featherweight 52.5kg.

Tiger Moth seemed set to give his trainer Aidan O'Brien a long-awaited Melbourne Cup victory when he loomed in ominous fashion at the 200m.

But the northern hemisphere three-year-old couldn't bridge the margin in time before going under by a long neck.

"It was a great run for a young horse having only his fifth start in a race. He's run really well," McEvoy said.

McEvoy earned $55,000 as his percentage of Tiger Month's prize money.