[xenophiles]

When breeding horses for speed, it's useful to know that training the sire won't make the foals faster.

I think it's safe to say that this was well-known before 1859.[link]

Nice wiki article on the history of horse breeding, but you don't seem to have read it; it doesn't support your assertion. Evolution is such a familiar idea now that it's hard to remember that it wasn't obvious to earlier generations. Have a look at this wiki article on Lamarckism. Satisfied?

[Tribune7]

What you said was "When breeding horses for speed, it's useful to know that training the sire won't make the foals faster."

What I pointed out is that his has been understood for millenia.

Evolution is such a familiar idea now that it's hard to remember that it wasn't obvious to earlier generations.

Again, you seem to be implying that ancient horse/dog/cattle breeders were unaware that traits were passed on through breeding and seem to be implying that they tried to "train" the traits.

Which is rather bizarre.

Regardless, Darwin did not provide any enlightnment with regard to the mechanism for heredity. The credit goes, entirely, to Mendel.