Horse racing-Bullets fired at Australian steward's house

MELBOURNE, Oct 26 (Reuters) - Australian police are investigating a shooting at the Melbourne home of a senior thoroughbred racing steward who has been active in efforts to clean up corruption in the industry. Shots were fired into the front door of Victoria state's chief steward Terry Bailey late on Sunday while he was at home with his family. No one was injured in the shooting but the incident has rocked the industry in the leadup to next week's Melbourne Cup, the country's richest and most high-profile race. "It was such a warm night that we were outside when we heard this burst of bullets," Bailey told reporters in Melbourne. "Just as we ran, neighbours came running when they heard the gunfire. "I was pretty angry. There's no need for that -- it's below the belt. "It's a job we're in and we've had similar incidents over the years. We're accustomed to it now." Bailey has appeared as a witness in betting-related corruption hearings against local jockeys and has been unpopular with some trainers for his hard-line anti-doping stance. Local governing body Racing Victoria said it had assigned extra security at his house. "Terry Bailey is one tough cookie," Victoria state's racing minister Martin Pakula told local media. "Of course he'll be concerned for the safety of his family and he'll be concerned about this incident, but if I know Terry Bailey, those people that might want to deter him or racing integrity officials from doing their job and doing it properly, will be sadly disappointed." (Reporting by Ian Ransom, editing by Sudipto Ganguly)