Thoroughbred trainer Larry Jones has appealed a seven-day suspension and $500 fine levied by the stewards at Delaware Park in connection with the highly-publicized case in which the horse Stones River tested positive for the prohibited substance clenbuterol.

John Wayne, executive director of the Delaware Thoroughbred Racing Commission, said Jones has been issued a stay of the suspension pending the appeal. The commission will hear the appeal at its Oct. 21 meeting.

Jim Squires, who races Stones River under the name of his Two Bucks Stable, stirred controversy earlier when he questioned the positive test taken after the horse won an allowance race June 8. Squires publicly announced the positive finding before the stewards took action because he wanted to be the first to report the incident, which he described as “highly suspicious.”

Among Squires’ suspicions were based on claims the positive was reported to him two days before he appeared at congressional hearings on the horse racing industry and that it is the first positive for Jones during the trainer’s 25-year career. Jones was cast into the public spotlight in May after the filly he trains, Eight Belles, died following her second-place finish in the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I). Subsequent tests conducted on the filly showed that she was not racing on steroids or any illegal medications at the time of her death